


Our Arranged Love Story

by AwsmeGrl



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/F, LuffyandNami, LuffyxNami, Lunami, OnePiece - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 10:56:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 68,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11872899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwsmeGrl/pseuds/AwsmeGrl
Summary: Luffy and Nami, two complete strangers, learn to love each other through their arranged marriage.-A One Piece Fanfic with the pairing Luffy and Nami.-Genre:  Romance, Drama, Humour, Action-This fanfic can also be found on Fanfiction.net under my username "Awsme Grl" and Wattpad under the username: Awsme7Grl





	1. Chapter 1

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." - William Jennings Bryan

 

Bellemere sauntered up the staircase of her large home with two mugs of hot tea in both hands; a lit cigarette was present between her lips. Smoke swept behind her as she made her way to her daughter, Nami's room.

She knocked on the door and called out to her but didn't get a response. She gave a light sigh and expertly balanced the two mugs in one hand, opened the door and made her way inside.

Giving the room a once over, she found that Nami was nowhere in sight. However, Bellemere had a good idea of where she was. At the corner of the tidy room was a door adorned with the sign 'Map Room."

She found Nami, back turned away from her, seated and hunched over a map. Scratching sounds could be heard as she drew out the map's details with quick but skillful hands. She was wearing her reading glasses, hair up in a high ponytail, dressed in a blue and white striped tank top with orange shorts.

Bellemere approached her, sat down at the couch and rested the cups on the nearby coffee table. She noted the cupboards stacked with old maps and new ones that Nami deftly recreated. On the floor lay a couple sheets of scrunched up paper. 'Nothing but perfection, huh?' she thought. 

She looked towards her pretty daughter, rolled her eyes and cleared her throat. The scratching stopped and Nami glanced over to the couch with widened eyes. She didn't notice till now that she had company.

"Hi mom," Nami said with a smile. "What brings you here?"

"Hello Nami," Bellemere began, "I'm here to talk to you about your future-" Nami made an annoyed face, one that Bellemere knew all too well- "As the daughter of the Mikan Grove Foundation, it is..."

"I don't want to hear it." Nami said, cutting her off and turned back around to her map. Bellemere blew a thin trail of smoke and stared hard at the stubborn girl in front of her.

Choosing to ignore Nami's rudeness, she continued:

"Nami, it is very important that you marry a well-off man from a prominent family for the up keeping of our household. It is your duty."

Nami knew that the continual success of the family business depended on her marrying into a rich family but on the other hand, she also knew that deep down in her heart she wanted to know, to feel what true love really was for herself- not of the decision of her parents.

"Mom, that last thing I want is my life being ruined by some old, egoistic bastard who only focuses on work! The suitors you guys have chosen for me so far were too old, narcissistic, flashy or just plain old perverts... I don't want to be some trophy wife. I want to be a wife! 

What I want is to find my own kind of love- true love. I can't believe that you of all people is trying to force me into doing this. Where's dad?"

Nami was so furious. Was on the verge of tears.

"About that," Bellemere said, handing Nami the tea. Nami took a sip after saying a silent thank you and marveled at the taste. It was orange tea, her favourite. She began to feel herself calm down a bit.

"Your father and I understand, sweetheart. You know that we never want to see you unhappy and will never choose someone who is unsuitable. In fact, we have already found someone to be your serious suitor!" Bellemere beamed.

Nami suddenly took a quick intake of breath after hearing that her stairway to misery had already been built. She put her mug to the side and put her face in her hands.

"He's from the Monkey D. Corporation and his folks are very good friends of your father's. Your father said that he'll make a fine husband. He's over there right now meeting with Monkey D. Dragon..." Bellemere rambled, becoming troubled by the sadness illuminating from her daughter. She stood up and went over to Nami's side and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Honey... Tell you what. If this guy isn't what you're looking for, I'll convince your father to allow you the chance of finding someone on your own. No more suitors and no more arrangements."

Nami's hands dropped from her face and glanced up at her mother.

"You promise?"

"I promise." Bellemere smiled down at her daughter's faintly wet eyes. Nami flung her arms around her mother's waist, and held her close.

 

The day came for her to meet her arranged partner. They were to meet at the five star restaurant called 'The Baratie' at 5:00 pm. They reserved a private room where the meeting would be held. The room was Japanese styled with floral paper doors and immaculate decorating. Nami and her parents were already seated. They were 20 minutes early but the Monkey D.'s were not there as yet to Nami's relief.

Bellemere made Nami dress up a bit even though Nami protested. She was however pleased with the end result. She wasn't overdressed. Nami wore a thin strapped light blue dress with traces of faded orange flowers. The dress flared gracefully around her hips stopping a little above her knees. She wore this with a pair of simple white Mary Janes her mom picked out for her. Her natural orange waves were styled free about her shoulders and down the middle of her back with her bangs pinned to the side. She wore very light makeup since she was always one to have flawless skin. She was all in all simply stunning.

In terms of her feelings, Nami felt nervous. She usually does when her dad makes her meet the past suitors but today was a different kind of nervous. She didn't quite know why she was feeling so anxious. 'Maybe because this is the last time I get to be in a situation like this,' she thought and she began playing with the hem of her skirt.

Actually, Nami's father, Genzo, kept talking highly about this 'Luffy' character. That's all she knew about him, his name and his age. He was a year younger than her.

 

At 5:15 pm, Nami heard some voices approaching the room and her heart felt like it nearly stopped. She lowered her head to hide because she didn't think that she was ready. The voices approaching were a hushed argument and in stepped two men with spiky, black hair. There were none other than Monkey D. Dragon and his son, Monkey D. Luffy.

Dragon had a scowl on his face and Luffy looked rather pissed. Dragon then brightened up when he saw his dear friend, Genzo and he suddenly bowed his head and said, "We humbly apologize for our lateness." He glanced over and saw that Luffy was still standing, picking his nose, nonetheless and reached up and pulled his head down which made him whine in protest.

The truth was that Dragon had an argument with Luffy just before leaving the mansion. The lad had the nerve to think that casuals were a perfect dinner outfit in a five star restaurant to meet his possible future wife much less. He finally persuaded Luffy to go with a fitted black dress pants, a red dress shirt and a nice fitting jacket. What he was missing which Dragon was furious about was that Luffy forgot to wear a tie and some of his shirt buttons were still undone. They were already late so Dragon hurried and rushed Luffy out of the house.

"Sorry."

Nami who fortunately still had her head down up to this point, missing Luffy's gross display of 'looting,' glanced up slowly after hearing his quick apology. "What a strange voice,' she thought. His voice was raspy, childish and Nami, though she hated to admit it, thought that it was kind of cute.

Around the same time, Luffy looked up as well and their eyes met. He looked at her blankly for a good 3 seconds- probably the longest 3 seconds of Nami's life- then gave her a wide, radiant smile. Nami could have sworn that she felt her heart skip a beat and it started beating hard. 'There goes that weird feeling again.'

She studied him. He was dressed sloppy but his clothes fit him almost perfectly. There was a strain at the jacket shoulders which made her wonder what was hiding under that lanky frame off his. His eyes were big, bright, dark brown and full of life. He had a strong jaw line, tan skin, a neat nose and a scar directly below one of his eyes. Monkey D. Luffy was a handsome man and Nami wasn't objecting. The way he smiled at her earlier brought out his charm and she felt her cheeks warming up.

"Better late than never, my old friend," Genzo said walking over to Dragon and embraced him then shook hands with Luffy. He then invited them to have a seat at the table. Luffy sat opposite Nami who went back to playing with her skirt and the table grew awkwardly quiet.

Dragon cleared his throat and Nami glanced over at him. He was an intimidating man in her eyes. His son looked a lot like him but had a more childish, carefree appearance. She sensed that he was an exceptionally powerful man.

"Tonight, we are gathered here for the bonding of both our families through an arranged marriage of our children. The arrangement will grant us many years of financial security and it will be a pleasure for my son to marry the daughter of my very good friend, Genzo."

Nami feeling the burden on her shoulders reached for her mother's hand and squeezed it. Bellemere squeezed back in return silently comforting her daughter.

Dragon turned to Nami and she jumped a little.

"Hello Nami. I've heard so much about you," he smiled, "I'm Monkey D. Dragon, head of the Monkey D. Corporation. I would like you to meet my son." He nudged Luffy with his elbow who grimaced at the interruption. Instead of being a nervous-wreck like she was, he was busy eyeing the menu.

"Wha-?"

"Introduce yourself, Luffy."

''How about we leave these two so that they can really get to know each other a bit? We adults will be checking out the wine bar to see if we can get ourselves a drink," Bellemere said getting up, motioning for her husband and Dragon to do the same.

"What? Mom!" Nami couldn't believe that she'd just left her alone like that.

"You two take your time," Bellemere winked at Nami and gave her a thumbs up with a triumphant grin much to Nami's annoyance.

The door slid closed and Nami hesitantly turned to Luffy. He was back to reading the menu.

"Well, aren't you going to say anything?" she asked. Her patience was running thin.

"I'm starving!" Luffy exclaimed. Nami was taken back. She realized that she too was starving but that wasn't the point. It felt like she was being ignored completely.

"You idiot!" Nami shot up and punched Luffy causing him to fly to the floor.

"Gaah!" Luffy shouted. He looked at Nami with wide eyes. He wasn't expecting her to hit him at all.

"You insensitive jerk! If this isn't the slightest important to you, I'm leaving!" Nami began gathering her things and started heading for the door.

"Wait." Luffy said as reached out and grabbed hold of her arm. Nami stopped and turned around. However, Luffy was standing a tad too close for comfort. She unknowingly blushed. Just as she was about to pull her hand away, Luffy said:

"I'm sorry... can we start over?"

Nami looked at him carefully. He was taller than her by a few inches, she noted. She decided to comply and went back to her seat. Luffy did the same.

"My name is Monkey D. Luffy. I am the junior manager of Monkey D. Corporation; I am 20 years old; my favourite food is meat and-"Nami burst out laughing with mirth. 'Meat?' she thought, "That's so random!"

Luffy was amazed at the sound of her laughing. He blushed at how nice she looked at that very moment.

"You're cute."

"W-What?"

"I said that you're cute. I like it when you smile! You should smile more, Nami," Luffy smiled at her widely.

"Thank you..." Nami was embarrassingly pleased and she was finding it rather hard to maintain eye contact.

"...Listen, I've never really been in love before. I'm not even sure about what it feels like. But... even though I have no idea about those sort of things, I'll definitely learn to love you," Luffy said with conviction.

Nami blinked. Luffy became serious all of a sudden.

"Because I don't know why, but this mystery feeling right here..." he grabbed his chest where his heart is and looked her squarely in the eye.

"I've never felt this way before but I want to see you happy; I want to be a reason to make you happy."

Nami looked at him with widened eyes, almost credulously. Luffy's unexpected confession was the nicest thing she had ever heard from a guy. Him wanting her to always be happy made Nami's heart soar. She even felt butterflies welling up in her stomach. This was a big decision for both of their lives and she had a strong feeling that Luffy was worth giving a try at being her husband.

Her long silence caused Luffy to shuffle in his seat. 'Was I too blunt?' he thought. He had always been one to say what was on his mind without thinking first.

"Alright," Nami said. Luffy stared back at her. "I'll marry you. Please take care of me." 

"You will? Yahoo!"

Nami saw Luffy's huge grin and wondered how someone could be so happy. "Where did that serious demeanor go?' she wondered.

"I've never been in love before myself," Nami began, "It's something that I take very seriously. I trust you, Monkey D. Luffy, to take care of me so you better not go against your word." Nami was stern which made Luffy gulp. He was smart enough to know that that was an order. He looked down and suddenly reached for her small hands and held them tightly between his slightly larger ones.

Nami silently gasped.

"I promise."

Nami, completely surprised by Luffy's small yet sweet gesture, looked at him with new light and smiled genuinely at him.

The door abruptly opened and in walked their parents. Nami almost forgot about them.

"Well, well, well," Bellemere chanted, "Should we come back later?"

Nami turned to look at her mom quickly and looked back in front of her to realize that Luffy still had a firm hold of her hands. She quickly pulled them away and her cheeks were stained a bright red. Needless to say she was extremely embarrassed.

"Dad, you guys took forever. I'm starving!"

"Mind your manners, boy." Dragon had a smirk on his face. He including Bellemere and Genzo made it back in time to spy on the cute display the two heirs had earlier. Who knew his son had it in him?

The two families proceeded to order dinner. They were pleased to find out that there will be a marriage and gave a toast to congratulate the engagement. Nami was surprised at the amount of food Luffy ate. He was a glutton. On the other hand, Nami liked the way he was kind to her parents when he spoke with them. He was sweet, sometimes a complete moron... but still sweet.

Luffy would occasionally give her short glances which she would sometimes catch and he will grin at her to her delight.

Nami couldn't believe that she agreed to getting married just like that. Despite that, she knew deep inside that she was making a right decision.

Dinner concluded and Monkey D. Dragon and his son bowed and turned to leave.

"Wait Luffy."

At the sound of Nami's voice, Luffy turned back to meet her gaze. Both parents looked on as Nami approached Luffy, tip toed and gave him a kiss on his cheek. She leaned back and gave him her best smile.

"Bye."

Red spread across Luffy's cheeks like the plague. Nami was quite bold, and she also smelled nice, he thought. All he was thinking right there and then was that he definitely wanted to see her again.

 

 

After reaching home, Nami went straight to her room, latched the door and landed face down onto her bed.

"Oh my God. I can't believe I did that..." she said out loud. All she remembered was moving on an impulse. Bellemere wouldn't stop teasing her about it. She reached over and hugged her pillow.

"What now?"

"Nami could hear her parents downstairs laughing. 'Probably making fun of me,' she thought in annoyance. She changed and to take her mind off of a certain 'someone,' she decided to go finish drafting her latest map.

Reaching for the doorknob of her treasured room, she stopped when she heard her cell phone ring. She dug for it out of her bag and realized that in was an non-ID number.

"Hello?"

"Nami?" she heard the voice say and her eyes widened.

"Nami, you there?"

"She went over to the foot of her bed, sat down and drew her knees close to her chest.

"L-Luffy?"

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

"If you don't see your worth, you'll always choose people who don't see it either. When your self esteem rises, your life follows." - Mandy Hale

 

"Hi Nami. Yeah, it's me Luffy. Am I calling at a bad time?" He sounded uncertain.

"No, not really... I was just about to finish drawing a map..."

"You draw maps? That's so cool! Uh... You're probably wondering how I got your number." At Nami's silence, he continued, "Your mom gave it to me during dinner. I didn't ask her for it- I swear!"

"Oh..." Nami's eyes twitched after hearing that. She'll get back at her mom later.

"Maybe it was a bad idea to call so soon." His voice gave an indication that he was hurt and disappointed which Nami didn't fail to pick up. "I'll just go to bed then-"

"No - Wait Luffy!" Nami shouted cutting him off. She was actually happy to be speaking with him so soon after thinking about it. "We can talk now."

"Really?" He seemed to be perking up.

"Yeah."

"Okay!" There was a long pause.

"Luffy? Are you still there?" Nami asked, wondering if they had somehow lost connection.

"Yeah."

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Anything's fine really. Uh... oh yeah! You didn't really get to tell me about yourself- actually I didn't get to finish..."

As Luffy rambled on, Nami blushed. Looking back, he really never got to finish introducing himself for he went on about calling her cute and unexpectedly declared that he wanted to make her happy.

"Nami..." Luffy 's tone of voice changed from carefree to serious. "I just wanted to make sure that you're serious about this marriage - our marriage. What I mean is that from what I heard, marriage is a big deal. I'm not really the type fit to be a marriage partner. I'm sometimes immature and dense to a whole lot of things. I'm not that smart and I don't really have any tangible goals in life. I was wondering if a person like you would honestly be satisfied with a guy like me..."

Nami blinked. Needless to say, she was dumbfounded. In her eyes, Luffy seemed so confident, prideful and so sure of himself, so why was he telling her this? She knew her worth and apparently he had an idea. Then again, they were involved in an arranged marriage and the fact that Luffy was ensuring that she didn't want to think twice about what they're getting themselves into, showed that he cared a whole lot for her. It was heart touching and Nami looked down to the side and smiled to herself.

"Luffy, don't be an idiot. You swore to learn how to love me, right? Listen... it's okay to have doubts. Even I had doubts but after meeting and seeing who you were for myself, I believe that I want to go on this journey with you. Y-You're sweet, funny, a little silly, straightforward and I think that that's what attracted me to you... Checking up on me about our marriage made me very happy. Thank you. In my heart, I know that I want to marry you and about getting to know each other, we will in due time... after we're married."

There was an approximate 5 second pause.

'Shishishi' Luffy laughed. "Thanks Nami. I'm so relieved! I really, really like you."

"Huh?"

"I like you," Luffy said again. "I like your spirit, you're not a coward. I like it when you smile. I like how you were able to blow away all my worries away about our situation; you're really easy to talk to. You smell nice... I like that too-"

"Wait Luffy," Nami said, stopping him. She was rendered speechless after Luffy said that he liked her but grew pleasantly embarrassed hearing him list the things he liked about her. Guys in the past only praised her body. Luffy saw her as a person not some object and she wondered how someone could be so sweet and genuine at the same time. Nami felt timid all of a sudden. She definitely needed to change the topic. Luffy was just too sweet.

"You said that your favourite food is meat, right? Well, mine's oranges."

"Really? Oranges are awesome. They're the same colour as your hair. I like your hair a lot, Nami."

'Oh great.' Luffy unfortunately didn't get the message.

"Luffy, though you saying all that makes me happy... let's please talk about something else."

"Okay... This one time I had this awesome dream! I woke up on a meat island and-"

Nami burst out laughing. Luffy paused, decided to laugh along with her and continued his story. They ended up talking about a series of weird dreams that they'd had until Luffy's dad called for him.

"Sorry Nami. The old man's calling me so I have to go. If it's okay with you, I'd like to call you again..."

"Of course, Luffy. Good night... and Luffy?

"Yeah?"

"I really like you too."

Luffy blinked and laughed, 'Shishishi' "Goodnight, Nami."

When Luffy was no longer on the other line, Nami had a content look written all over her face. She giggled to herself when she remembered his silly story about becoming the Meat King. She glanced at her bedside clock and was shocked to find that it was way past midnight. How long they talked, she had no idea but she enjoyed every second of it.

 

Luffy and Nami's wedding was to take place a month after. They haven't seen each other at any other time since Monkey D. Dragon had Luffy doing heaps of work for the company before the big day. Luffy however, ensured that he called Nami as much as possible. He knew that she truly enjoyed his phone calls. He was just as satisfied hearing her voice over the phone. Talking to her was like a breath of fresh air after a hard day of work.

Their wedding entailed two separate ceremonies. The first involved their close friends and families. There is to be a banquet and a toast to the newly engaged couple. It isn't to be a large gathering and is to take place at the Monkey D. Mansion. Dragon and Genzo didn't want to overwhelm their children unnecessarily. It was an arranged marriage after all.

The second event is to take place the day following the first. They are to go to the Government House, sign a couple of papers and say their vows. If everything goes smoothly, Luffy and Nami are to move into an apartment a week after which their parents picked out; claiming it as a wedding gift. Bellemere even took it upon herself to furnish it. Everything was set.

 

On the night of the first event, everyone was gathered in the large dining room of the Monkey D. household. Everyone except Nami and her parents.

Meanwhile, Luffy was in his own turmoil of mixed emotions. He was enthusiastic, worried and upset. 'Where is she?' he wondered, feeling rather jumpy on his heels. He sat outside on the stairs waiting for any sign of her.

Zoro, Luffy's best friend, walked out of the large door behind him to see if he's doing okay. Zoro knew that even though Luffy was a rather nice guy and all, he had a problem with being patient so he thought that checking up on him would be for the best.

"Yo, Luffy. You sure you don't want to come in? Usopp and the guys are raiding the food table."

Despite saying that, it wasn't enough to move Luffy. He didn't even turn to meet him nor answer him. He had his eyes fixed ahead of him with a precarious look on his face. Zoro smirked at this and made way back to the party. He was very proud of his captain- a name that he and the guys playfully liked to call him.

The guys were mind blown the day Luffy announced that he was engaged. They thought that he was joking but Luffy with all seriousness told them that he definitely was not. Luffy had always been one stubborn brute. They assumed that he was freaking asexual for crying out loud. Though Dragon was a strict parent, he worried for his son and his lack of interest in being in a relationship and tried to marry him off early. Surprisingly, it worked.

His dad had set him up with well off girls before; the more prestigious of them all being a princess and even a woman rumour claimed to be the most beautiful woman on earth. Yet, Luffy stated that they were either cowardly, weak or just down right pissed him off.

The possibility of putting the words Luffy and married in one sentence was equal to finding a needle in a haystack. Whoever this girl was, talented enough to steal Luffy's heart, they wanted to meet her as soon as possible. Usopp even joked (away of Luffy's earshot) that she must have worn a meat dress or something. They never doubted their captain but all this about him getting married seemed so unreal.

Zoro trusted his captain to choose someone suitable for himself. He too was shocked at hearing the news. Though he had confidence in Luffy and all, whoever this girl was had to first gain his approval before handing his best friend over. No matter how made up Luffy's mind was.

The fact that Nami hadn't graced Luffy with her presence left Luffy an uneasy mess. He was pretty sure that she wanted to see him as much as he wanted to see her, but where was she? Of course he tried calling her countless times but her phone kept ringing out and all he got was her voice mail.

'Where's Nami?'


	3. Chapter 3

"Someone who is worthy of your love will never put you in a situation where you feel you must sacrifice your dignity, your integrity, or your self-worth to be with them." -Unknown

 

Meanwhile, Sanji, another one of Luffy's best friends was out having a much needed smoke. He was completely exhausted after cooking all the food needed for the shitty captain's engagement party. He could not believe that Luffy scored before him; no matter how impossible it seemed. He had recently finished taking a long relaxing stroll through the large garden outside the mansion and was on his way back inside.

Suddenly, he heard a car shriek to a sharp stop -the car park was pretty close to the garden- in the driveway; then there was the sound of a car door opening and slamming shut. Additionally, he heard the sound of quick footsteps coming towards him. Being on guard, he waited. In came running one of the most beautiful maidens he had ever set his eyes on. She was late, he noted. The party started almost a whole hour ago. Her hair was a brilliant orange pinned up in a messy yet elegant low bun. She wore beaded, cream halter gown which flowed down at her ankles; cream heels on her feet. Sanji was awestruck. In his eyes, she was running towards him and he thought that he had maybe died and went to heaven. She actually however, ran past him towards the main house, with a worried look on her face.

Sanji being the ladies-man he was, fell instantly in love. He called out to her, "Miss, may I please have your name?" he cooed but she didn't stop. 

It seemed like nothing was going to stop her from reaching her destination. She continued on to the mansion and since that was where Sanji was headed to in the first place, he decided to take a casual walk back. It was as if hearts were in his eyes as he thought about meeting the lovely, mysterious lady again.

 

Nami could not believe that she was so late. She had a light fever when she awoke from a nap she had that afternoon. She apparently didn't dry her hair properly before falling asleep. Her mom told her to stay home but there was no way she was going to do that. Seeing Luffy was first priority in her mind. She most definitely wasn't planning on being held back because of a petty fever. It had been a whole month and though they spoke nearly every day, she was desperate to see him again. She wished that Luffy had not been so busy but her worries were pacified when Luffy explained that his dad just wanted to deal with a few things to grant them both adequate time for each other.

Nami somehow, won the argument with her mom and hurried to get dressed. She was alarmed at the time- the engagement party started 10 minutes ago. She could have called Luffy and told him that she was running late but she didn't have any time to lose for she wanted to look her best. Bellemere and Genzo rushed to get ready as well. Trying to convince their daughter to stay home because of her fever was futile.

Bellemere saw how unsettled Nami was. If someone had told her a month ago that her daughter would fall for an arranged partner, she would not have believed them. A day could not pass without Nami talking about Monkey D. Luffy. "Luffy this," and, "Luffy that." By the looks of it, she would not be surprised if Nami had already fallen for the boy. She gave herself a mental pat on her back. She made the right choice slipping Luffy Nami's number that night.

During the drive to the Monkey D. mansion, Nami fished around in her purse for her phone only to remember leaving it on her bedside table. She mentally kicked herself and insisted that her dad drove faster. She knew very well that Luffy would be a worried and whining mess while waiting for her.

'I'm coming Luffy.'

 

When they finally arrived, it was already an hour late. Nami with adrenaline coursing through her veins, hurriedly fumbled for the door handle, opened it, slammed it shut and took off. Genzo made an indication to call her back thinking that the proper thing to do was to go in as a family but his wife interrupted him.

"Let her go. She will probably shout at us to walk fast as if our lives depended on it," she laughed. "Besides, those two have been dying to see each other."

Genzo agreed. It pained him to know that soon his daughter would be taken away from him. He personally had to have a stern talk with Monkey D. Luffy because pretty soon, he will be solely in charge of his daughter's happiness.

 

Nami hated running in heels with a passion but as if the odds were in her favour as she ran towards the garden, she didn't feel like her feet were being brutally murdered. As she entered, she noticed that someone was standing there. Having no time to greet the stranger she deftly ran pass him. Just the thought of finally seeing Luffy after what felt like forever made her all giddy inside like a kid on Christmas morning. She finally made it to the large staircase of the vast mansion and stood up at the base trying to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding hard. She did not know whether it was from exhaustion or anticipation. She steeled herself for the trek up the marathon of stairs. 'Why the hell is this place so big?' she thought being obviously frustrated. Nami placed one foot up on the first stair and looked up. The stairway was illuminated by some tall lights and she saw a figure at the very top that looked a lot like...

"Luffy?"

She saw the figure stand up abruptly but he didn't respond to her call. However, Nami knew without a doubt that he was indeed there so she eagerly started up the stairs towards him.

"Luffy!"

Luffy glanced around when he thought he heard someone call his name. He shot up on his feet. That voice sounded a lot like Nami's. He looked down the staircase and blinked. Ahead of him he saw her running up, charging towards him. His heart danced. Luffy was so relieved to see her; to finally see her.

Upon arriving to where Luffy stood, Nami stationed herself a foot in front of him. She looked down feeling extremely unsure of what to tell him.

"Luffy, I-I'm so sorry that I'm late. You see, I-"

She was cut off when she felt Luffy's arms surround her and draw her near into his chest; one arm draped across her shoulders and the other wrapped around her lower back. He had his face in her hair and breathed a sigh of relief. She could also feel him trembling a bit. Nami was surprised. She certainly did not expect him to hug her out of the blue, especially not like this. Her face was flushed. She was glad to just see him but being in his arms nearly sent her crazy. His captivating warmth enveloped her, causing her to feel safe, warm inside and most of all loved. He smelled almost as she expected; like meat but he was wearing cologne which smelled like ginger and sandalwood. She liked it. Nami slowly reached up to hug him back but instantly paused and pulled away; her hands on his chest.

"Luffy, let go- I'm sweaty from running over here." Her head was bowed a little in embarrassment.

Luffy regarded her with a raised eyebrow and just held her again even tighter when he felt her struggle against him only to give up since he felt her circle her arms around him. He smiled with contentment and closed his eyes. The world could end now for all he cared. He finally felt complete.

Reveling in each other's arms going on to a good 6 minutes, Luffy sensed that something was aloof. As if something was flying towards them at an incurable speed. He stepped to the side with Nami in tow, opening his eyes to see Sanji's leg slide pass him and the owner of said leg crashing into the wall of the house. Nami, frightened at the sound looked over her shoulder while still in Luffy's arms only to see the blond guy she passed in the garden earlier.

Luffy was needless to say, pissed. The nice moment he was having with Nami ended way sooner than he wanted.

"Oi Sanji! What the hell is your problem?!" he unwillingly released Nami and walked over to where Sanji now stood, dusting off his suit and proceeded to light another cigarette.

"My problem?" Sanji reached out and grabbed Luffy's jacket collar and began to shake the living daylights out of him while shouting at his face.

"Why on earth was this gorgeous angel all wrapped up in your arms!?" he seethed. 'Why does the shitty captain always get the favour of the ladies?' he raved. 'Wasn't he supposed to be getting married soon? Wait...it can't be.'

"Angel? What are you talk- Oh! You mean Nami!" Luffy beamed with a huge grin on his scarred face.

Nami who was left standing alone was wondering about what the heck was going on the moment the blond-haired man grabbed Luffy. She could not really hear what was being said but by the looks of it, she deduced that they were friends. They acted so used to each other. After a while, she saw Sanji drop Luffy, found himself in a corner and began to sulk.

Luffy looked over at him with furrowed eyebrows, shrugged and got up to straighten himself.

Suddenly the door opened and out piled the rest of Luffy's friends: Usopp, Chopper, Robin, Franky and Zoro. Brook had to stay back inside to provide music for the party but he made sure to send his regards.

"Hey, Luffy-bro," Franky said, "We all came out here to cheer you up."

"Okay-okay, you got us," declared Usopp, "That was a rich lie, Luffy. I should have known that you were bluffing all along. I'm the King of Liars after all!" His eyes were closed and he rubbed underneath his nose, one hand on his hip with a triumphant look on his face.

"What do you mean? Nami's right here," he announced pointing over at her.

Usopp looked over to where Nami stood and his jaw dropped and his eyes bulged. Standing before him was indeed a girl- a beautiful one in fact and to top it off, she was not wearing a meat dress. Usopp hurried over to Luffy, tossed his arm around his shoulders and dragged him away from the others, probing him for details.

Everyone turned to look at the tardy guest of honour. Franky started crying; Robin placed a hand under her chin and smiled mischievously; Zoro who noticed Sanji sulking in the corner smirked. He could just imagine exactly what took place out there. Seeing the cook suffer was always a feast for his eyes.

Nami was perplexed and hooded her eyes. 'Leave it to Luffy to have such a weird assortment of friends.' She noticed a few familiar faces among them such as Roranoa Zoro, the amazing three-sword wielder; Tony Tony Chopper, the outstanding young prodigy who already had a successful career as a doctor; and Nico Robin, a brilliant archaeologist who knows almost all the world's languages and history. Thinking about it, the blond guy looked quite similar to the chief chef of 'The Baratie.' She did not expect to be in the presence of such famous people.

Zoro left the group and approached Nami. She straightened up and had a defensive look on her face. Rumour had it that Roronoa Zoro was a dangerous man and the last thing Nami wanted to do was let her guard down. Zoro stood in front of her and observed her carefully. Clearly, he was impressed. She was easy on the eyes and actually had a tough aura about her.

"Nami, right? Listen, I'm Luffy's best friend, Roronoa Zoro. I've known Luffy for 4 years now; way longer than you have. What makes you think that you are worthy enough to marry him? I know that his family is practically loaded and he is kind of easy to manipulate. Just what are you planning on gaining by going through with this marriage?" Zoro glared at her.

"What are you? His mother?" Zoro's eyes twitched.

Nami placed a hand on her chest and stared directly at him, a displeased look on her face. There was no way in hell she was going to allow a sword-brained idiot to look down on her like that.

"I'd have you know Mr. Roronoa Zoro, that I didn't agree on this marriage- we did. Our parents may have arranged this engagement for the sole purpose of financial security but it wasn't up to them to have the final say. We are extremely lucky to have found each other. I am fortunate to have met him. Luffy is important to me. I like him for who he is; not for his money."

"Give me a reason why I should trust you."

"When have you never trusted your best friend?"

Zoro's eyebrows rose and his eyes widened. He then stared at her with a smug look on his face and closed his eyes.

"Take care of him for me." he muttered as he moved to walk by her. 'This Nami woman, though a witch is surprisingly not bad,' he thought as he made way inside to chug down the few beers he had Brook guard for him then he'll probably take a nice relaxing shut-eye somewhere in one of the rooms.

To be cont'd...


	4. Chapter 4

"The best proof of love is trust." -Unknown

 

Dragon cleared his throat in the microphone achieving everyone's attention.

"A pleasant goodnight to all our fellow friends and family.   As all of you may know, my son, Monkey D. Luffy, is engaged. It is indeed phenomenal. Those of you who really know my son know exactly what I mean... Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my son and his fiancee, Nami."

He turned around and was annoyed to only find Nami standing behind him by herself.

"Where is that bastard?"

Nami pointed to the food table with an amused expression on her face. She did try to stop him but he kept on complaining about how hungry he was.

"Monkey D. Luffy, get back up here!"growled Dragon. Some in the audience laughed. Luffy was always one entertaining lad and it was always a sight to see how he gets on Dragon's nerves. Dragon pinched the bridge of his nose and also had his eyes closed grumbling about his bottomless-pit of a son.

Luffy gulped and in the blink of an eye, he was back right at Nami's side.  The last thing he wanted was to get on his dad's bad side.  Dragon could be scary when he's angry.

Nami glanced at Luffy and noticed that he was bored. She hooked arms with him and gave him a nod when he acknowledged her. Luffy fixed his gaze on her as if he was seeing her for the first time that night.

"You look nice, Nami," he whispered.

"Thanks Luffy. You don't look too shabby yourself."

Luffy was looking very handsome. He was adorned in a black 3-piece suit with a mustard coloured dress shirt all accented by a red tie. His hair was as spiky as the day they met but she decided that she fancied it.

Dragon turned to the entranced couple.

"Marriage isn't about fun and games, Luffy.  It's not always easy but it can be compared to being on an adventure.  Marriage is much more than having a relationship. Think of it as an important partnership."

Luffy nodded with determination and Nami stared fondly at him.

"A toast to the newly engaged couple!" Dragon rose his glass and so did the others in the attendance. Then there was a round of applause with a few shouts of celebration.

"Now," a queer looking guy, named Ivankov with purple hair and abstract looking make up walked up to the small stage, "Wve dance! Brook! Music please!"

"Yes sir!" Brook chimed back in response.

Nami couldn't take her eyes off the queer. His fashion sense was deplorable.  All of a sudden he turned around and winked at her.  She gripped onto Luffy's arm and shivered.  Whoever that guy was was giving her the creeps.

"Don't mind Iva-chan.  He's one of my dad's super weird friends but he's hilarious!" he laughed. He stopped to address Nami earnestly since something felt a bit off to him.

"Nami," she turned to him and Luffy put his warm hand on her forehead and brought it back to his, "Are you feeling okay? You're heating up."

"Oh- That's what I have been trying to tell you earlier. I have a little fever but I'm okay. You don't have to-"

She was suddenly pulled off the makeshift stage and into the small crowd of people.

"Chopper!"

Chopper was idling with Usopp listening to his unbelievable story about how he stole the hearts of 500 maidens in a period of only 5 days. The two turned when they saw Luffy approach and Chopper quickly hid behind Usopp.

"Hey, Chopper. Take a look at Nami for me. She's not feeling well.

"Luffy..."

"Nami, Chopper's the best doctor I know and he'll make you all better in a jiffy." he assured her with a smile.  Nami turned to Chopper. He was a cute, young teen of only 16 years with short brown hair.

"You bastard! That doesn't make me happy at all!" Chopper all but shouted with an evident grin on his face. He was shy but was never good when receiving compliments even though he loved them.

Nami didn't really get around to introducing herself to Luffy's friends as yet since she was late and couldn't dare to prolong the engagement party.

"Nami, these are two of my best buds, Chopper and U-"

"Usopp the Great! Nice to finally meet you," Usopp interrupted. He held out his hand and she shook it.

Chopper hesitantly walked up to her, "Tell me what's wrong. I have some herbs on me that can help with almost anything."

After finding out that it was just a slight fever, Chopper advised Nami to sit in one of the chairs as he checked her temperature with a thermometer he also had on hand. He observed that it was only a bit higher than normal and went over to the kitchen to mix a few herbs into a medicine. He returned shortly after with a steaming mug and handed it over to her.

"Thanks, Doctor Chopper," she said giving him an appreciative look and even ruffled his hair causing the young doctor to feel extremely embarrassed.

"It's a herbal tea that will help tame your fever. It'll make you sleepy afterwards so make sure that you get an adequate amount of rest." Soon he and Usopp wandered off somewhere to probably cause some kind of mischief.

Nami sipped on the tea while she sat comfortably in her chair. As the music played, a few pairs were dancing around the large ballroom. The majority of the persons present that evening were only mostly friends of her parents and the Monkey D. Family.

The atmosphere was joyous and she found herself swaying to the melodious beat with her eyes closed and a peaceful expression on her face.

'Shishishishi'

She opened her eyes and was flustered to see Luffy sitting opposite her with his chin in his palm looking at her with hooded eyes and a small upturn of his lips.

"You must really like this music, Nami," he stood up, walked over and held out a hand towards her.

"Wanna dance?"

Without hesitation, Nami abandoned the empty cup, placed her hand in his and they walked over to spot on the dance floor.  It was getting late and the guests were already taking their leave stopping to say their congrats and best wishes to both families.

Luffy stood in front of Nami and began the awkward charade on where he should put his hands. Nami snorted.

"Do you even know how to dance, Luffy?"

"No, not really.  I took dance classes years ago but I hated them."

She shook her head obviously amused and reached for both of his hands and placed them on her petite waist then she lifted her hands to rest on his shoulders. She didn't fail to notice the hint of red painted on Luffy's cheeks.

"You okay?"

"... Yeah."

The music was a unique combination of the piano and the flute. The symphony of both instruments complimented each other at a leisure pace, calmly setting an optimum atmosphere that can only be described as beautiful.

Luffy began to step slowly from side to side watching his feet since he was trying his hardest not to mess up and accidentally step on Nami.

"Luffy?"

"Mm?" he looked back up at her and gazed into her dazzling hazel eyes, almost captivated.

"We finally get to see each other, huh?

"Yeah," he gulped.

"It's strange how it feels like I've known you forever even though tonight's the second time we meet in person. With you right now, it feels like the happiest I've ever been... Thank you."

Luffy looked at her in awe. She looked so cute the way she smiled up at him and decided to himself that he too liked this strange mystery feeling. Just seeing her happy simply made him happy in return. Monkey D. Luffy was already a happy man but it was a special new kind of happiness he was feeling with Nami. It was an unusual feeling. One that he wanted to treasure. In response, he smiled widely at her.

All of a sudden, he felt Nami move her hands and she crisscrossed them around his neck bringing herself closer to his chest where she rested her head then he heard her give off a contented sigh. She felt Luffy stiffen up at first but began to loosen up soon after as he held her protectively against him.

"Tomorrow is the day, huh? We'll officially be married."

"Mm."

While they swayed to the music, Nami quickly eased herself to face Luffy, with pink tinged cheeks finding it hard to maintain eye contact.

"Luffy... even though we're going to be married, let's please take things slow," she mumbled only for him to hear.

"Huh?"

She resumed hugging him again, expertly hiding her flustered face on his chest. Luffy laughed at this.

"You're so cute, Nami."

"Shut up, you idiot," she muttered in a small, timid voice.

 

The ballroom was nearly empty now but without their knowing, they had a few spectators. Bellemere and Genzo were sitting on one of the couches sipping on some small drinks as they silently watched the pair with small smiles.

"Well aren't those two the cutest?" Bellemere snickered as she took out her phone to take a secret picture.  She'll definitely tease Nami about this later.

Robin, Sanji, Franky, Usopp and Chopper also looked at the happy dancing couple from the doorway. They could be compared to an anchored boat swaying gracefully against merciful waves.

"Captain-san sure looks happy," Robin commented.

"Yeah," Sanji muttered with a smirk slowly growing on his face. Even though he was madly jealous of Luffy, it was nice to see him actually acknowledge the magical experience of having a romantic interest in a lady.

Franky was still crying sputtering out how happy he was for Luffy and denying the fact that he was crying. On the other hand, Usopp was telling Chopper a story about how he once made the most beautiful woman in the whole universe fall in love with him with his awesome dancing skills. Chopper of course listened with stars in his eyes. Usopp was basically the coolest person he knew besides Luffy. Soon after, they all turned and left to go to their respective homes.

 

"This is nice," Nami whispered before she yawned.

"Nami-"

"Shhh..." He felt her nestle against him some more and as the music came to an end, he noticed that she had gone limp in his arms.

"Hey, are you asleep?" he asked as he turned his head to check. He paused when he heard light snores coming from her. He almost burst out laughing but stopped himself. Something was telling him that if he did, she would most likely pound him for waking her up.

He bent down and hooked an arm behind her knees and lifted her up in his arms.  She was heavier than he expected but it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle.  He looked around and saw her dad sitting by himself (Bellemere had gone to the restroom) and walked over to sit down inches away from him. He balanced Nami in a way that she would be comfortable on his lap; her head resting on his shoulder and her feet laid straight on the couch.  She was still snoring quietly much to Luffy's amusement.

"How is she doing? You know, she had a fever just before coming here but she insisted on seeing you. It was our fault that she was late. We apologize."

"That's okay. I'm just glad that she's here. I was afraid that she wasn't going to show up but I'm happy that she did. Coming here despite not feeling well just shows how tough Nami could really be... She's doing fine, by the way." Luffy stared at her warmly as he spoke.

Genzo observed the way he looked at his daughter and realized just how much he cared about her. He cleared his throat causing Luffy to look over to him.

"I believe that you have already realized that Nami is loveliest when she smiles. It's the kind of smile that you want to capture and bottle up forever."

Luffy nodded in agreement.

"She's a tough one who knows what she wants and will try her hardest to get it. Trust her, love her and whatever you do, don't take her smile away because if you do, you'll have to go through me," he cracked his knuckles, "And I won't forgive you."

"I promised her that I'll take care of her... Thanks for entrusting Nami to me." Luffy said with confidence. Genzo may be his dad's good friend but he was not allowing himself to be intimidated.

"Don't bother with him, Luffy. He has a daughter complex."Genzo turned irritably at his returning wife. "By the looks of it, you are already doing a good job. Our daughter can be a stubborn at times; nevertheless, please take care of her." Bellemere winked at him and reached to grab a hold of her husband's arm.

"We'll be going to our car now. When Nami wakes up, tell her to meet us there. Don't be too long now. Good Luck!" She proceeded to drag Genzo behind her giving the two young adults some more time before they had to say good-bye. It was getting awfully late.

Luffy watched them leave and redirected his gaze downwards after he felt movement. Nami was stirring a bit and thinking that she was waking up he called out to her and shook her a little. A hand instantly shot up and pinched his cheek.

"Ow-ow-ow-ow!"

"Didn't I tell you to be quiet?" Nami argued blinking awake.

"But Nami!"

As her vision focused her eyes widened when she realized that she was sitting quite comfortably in Luffy's lap. She took a look around only to see that they were the only ones left in the room and the music was long over.

"Where's everybody?"

"Your folks are waiting for you in the car. It's getting kind of late."

"Oh..." Nami stared down grievously at her hands on her lap.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just that... I'm upset that we don't have more time to spend with each other tonight. It's my fault. I was careless, got this dumb fever and to top it off, I fell asleep. I'm sorry..." Luffy furrowed his eyebrows then exhaled. He rested his head against hers and spoke to her reassuringly.

"Don't apologize. Coming to see me tonight even though you're not feeling your best meant a lot to me. You looked so cool running towards me that I thought that I was seeing things. But here you are." 'Shishishi'

Without warning, Nami hugged his neck. Luffy rubbed her back gently.

"I'll see you again tomorrow Nami and a whole lot afterwards so don't be stupid." The hold around his neck tightened. Nami was obviously trying to choke him off.

"Say that again and I'll kill you." She released his neck and he had a fit of coughing and laughing saying that he was kidding. Next thing, he felt something warm and soft on his cheek. Nami was kissing him; together with the way her hair tickled his face caused him to feel all tingly inside.

"See you tomorrow Luffy." She eased herself off of his lap and started towards the exit. Luffy watched her go and abandoned the couch to catch up with her. Nami soon acknowledged that he had laced his fingers through hers.

"I'll walk you," he suggested nervously.

"I have a better idea," she hit his arm playfully and said,"Tag! You're it!" before turning on her heel and started running. Luffy stared in astonishment at her fleeting back, chuckled to himself and gave chase.

"That wasn't fair, Nami!" Nami laughed in return picking up speed sensing that he was catching up to her. It was their final night before they were due to be married and she decided that they might as well have fun.

The best kind of love is a love born from genuine friendship. Those two will become conscious that it isn't just love that builds a successful relationship- It's trust.

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse."- Jim Rohn

 

During the ride back home, Nami was beside herself in the back seat. A small smile played on her lips as she watched the passing stars outside the car window.

Meanwhile, her parents turned together to look at her.

"Is that really our daughter?" Genzo asked turning back to put his eyes back on the road ahead.

"I was wondering the same thing..." Bellemere smirked. She knew exactly what her daughter was going through right now and ensured that she gave her some pointers on marriage before her big day.

Upon their arrival, Nami slowly stepped out of the vehicle and made way to go inside the house while still having her eyes transfixed on the stars.

Around the same time, a lady with shoulder length purple hair who had not too long pulled up in a cab a few minutes prior to when they arrived, called out to Nami after spotting her from her perch on the garden bench. She didn't seem to hear her so she tried again.

Nami turned around after hearing a familiar voice and her eyes fell on her and widended.

"Nojiko?"

Nami was surprised to see her sister-figure standing in front of her. She was due to arrive the week after not today since she made it quite clear that she was unable to come in time for the wedding. Nami squealed and ran forward to embrace Nojiko. They were inseparable as kids and Nami loved her as close as a sister would. They would play in her parent's orange orchards and tell each other everything. However, the year Nami turned 15, Nojiko's folks moved away to another country but that fact didn't faze their friendship. They maintained contact and Nojiko visited her occasionally when she had the time.

"Surprise!" Nojiko exclaimed. Genzo and Bellemere greeted her like normal. She was like a second daughter to them and always welcomed her visits with open arms. They offered to take some of her bags inside and left the two standing outside. Genzo grumbled about how tired he was. The only thing he wanted to see was his warm bed. It had been one exhausting evening.

"What are you doing here? Didn't you say that you were coming next week?"

"I lied." Nojiko grinned. "I wanted to surprise you. I told your mom to keep it a secret! Why on earth would I miss my best friend's wedding? You know me better than that, Nami... Now tell me more about 'Monkey-Boy.' What was it like seeing him again after a whole month?"

"... Unbelievable. Just when I thought that this night couldn't possibly get better, you show up." Nami placed a hand on her hip and regarded her with a wry smile. She grabbed Nojiko's wrist and insisted that they talked over a warm bath.

 

As the two soaked in the bubble bath, Nami relayed to Nojiko the details of her evening. Nojiko of course was all ears.

"So how do you feel about all this?"

"About what?"

"About your arranged marriage? Luffy? Everything?"

"Oh... I'm actually excited and more than ready."

"You sure? Is he like an all-round perfect guy?" Nami nearly snorted at this.

"Far from perfect. He eats like a whale, he's too carefree and childish; stubborn to boot but..." she had a distant look in her eyes, "he's kind, speaks his mind. He's funny and he's sweet. Luffy's... Luffy's special and I can't wait to learn more about him."

Nojiko smiled at her and prodded her elbow on the corner of the tub and rested her chin on her closed fist.

"Does he have any ambitions for the future? I know that he is young and all but has he thought that far as yet?"

"You know what? He does. Luffy has this vision about being one of the freest men on earth," Nami laughed to herself, "He dislikes the fact that certain barriers based on nationality and class for example prevent people from obtaining opportunities around the world and wants to do something about it. He works along with his dad who is sort of a revolutionist or peacemaker. He goes against the government when finding that persons are being treated unfairly on a global scale."

Nojiko stared back at her with her mouth wide open. She was, to say the least, rather taken back.

"That's big! Isn't that sort of thing illegal? Is he serious?"

Nami scratched her head and looked to the side.

"...He's serious. I too was surprised after hearing that."

The Monkey D. Corporation was well known by everyone as a booming banana crop company but few knew that it was also run by undercover revolutionists. Nami was pretty sure that her dad had known considering how close he was to Monkey D. Dragon.

"After he told me a little about it, it's actually not entirely illegal."

Nami though knowing that such ambitions were nearly impossible and challenging, decided to highly support him. He appeared to be so enthusiastic about it and she could not help but think how much of an amazing person she thought Luffy was.

"You know... that idiot told me that he probably shouldn't have told me all that especially not on the phone without consulting his dad first- he even also tried to tell me to forget what was said." She chuckled to herself and shook her head. Luffy was too much.

"I'm happy for you Nami. If you're positive, I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you." Nami enjoyed Nojiko's company. Knowing that she would have her back boosted her confidence even more.

Nami began squeezing shampoo in her hand and started lathering up her hair, humming a quiet tune to herself which sounded awfully familiar to the music she and Luffy danced to. She looked over at Nojiko only to find her gazing skeptically at her.

"Is there something on my face?"

"You look different- A good kind of different... That 'Monkey-Boy' must be something. I might just try stealing him from you." Nojiko winked at her and stuck her tongue out.

Nami bit the inside of her cheek and narrowed her eyes at her sister-figure before splashing water in her face.

"Not a chance."

 

It was the day of the wedding; a gorgeous Sunday morning in Spring. The weather was favourable and it was almost as if nature itself was prepared to witness the joyous occasion that was to take place.

In contrast, the same could not be said for a certain someone present in the back seat of a moving limo with opaque tinted windows. At her side laid documents titled "NAMI" with red marks nearly all over them. The files contained info down to her childhood, education, acquaintances and even her medical records. To her Nami was unfortunately 'clean' but refused to believe that she was worthy.

She barked at her love-stricken driver to press on it since he kept on staring at her cleavage in his rear-view mirror with a pervy look on his face instead of focusing on what he should be doing. She was beautiful: a fact that she knew all too well. She had long raven coloured hair and was dressed to kill. She donned a low-cut, figure fitting purple dress that fit her almost too perfectly.

Today, she only had one destination and one mission. She was headed to the government house to stop a certain marriage. Just the thought of that man getting married to someone else but her infuriated her and she was wired to prevent such an occurrence if it was the last thing she did.

Though she wasn't able to steal his heart, just the mere thought of losing him to someone else made her skin crawl.

As the driver pulled up to the entrance of the great building, she stepped out of the vehicle and flipped her long hair over her shoulders.

"Have a nice trip H-"

"Don't you dare say my name! A filthy man like you have no right to do that- only He can." She placed her hands on her heated cheeks and got all dreamy-eyed.

"Yes ma'am." The pervy driver didn't seem to be affected by her insult the slightest as she walked towards the entrance. She took long, powerful strides as she stepped. She was clearly a woman of prestige, grace and style.

Just before stepping through the door she heard a quick movement of metal and paused to look down at a long blade located a few centimeters away from her neck. She glanced up to see Roronoa Zoro peering at her with a murderous look in his eyes.

"What a coincidence. What brings you here, Hancock?"

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

"Love is Sacrifice" - David Oyelowo

 

Zoro was running late for the ceremony that good morning and a little while after he entered the government house, he was followed by the rumoured most beautiful woman in the world, Boa Hancock.

He had been quite wary of her. The reason being that she just would not leave his captain alone. She was relentless; always sending Luffy detailed love letters about her undying love for him and an unnecessary assortment of gifts that Luffy didn't care to use. Zoro learned that Luffy didn't want to marry her but that clear statement did not get through to her thicker than thick skull.

They met during an arranged marriage meeting in the course of Dragon's endless meetings to find him a suitable wife. Despite her being dangerously beautiful, she didn't have the personality to match and Luffy wasn't one to judge people solely by their looks. He disliked the way she treated people as if they were lesser than trash and a thousand times inferior than cockroaches. She was incredibly arrogant and had little value for human life.

She hated him at first- heck she hated all men - but after Luffy accidentally learned of her past concerning her being a victim of child slavery, he didn't bash her nor look down on her as filth but expressed how much he hated persons who withheld an individual's freedom, she realized that she loved him. Monkey D. Luffy was the only man who was able to create a crack within her stone heart and she wanted him all to herself.

Unfortunately for her, Luffy didn't want to marry her and no matter what trick she used in the book, she never succeeded in getting him to look her way. Boa Hancock had a major problem: Luffy stole her heart and she did not want to take it back.

 

Zoro entered the lightly packed room of the great building used for small gatherings of Holy Matrimony. As late comers usually do, he slipped into the row of seats at the back. He was never one to dress up but he made sure to make an effort by scoring a navy blue dress pants, a neatly pressed long sleeved white shirt and a navy blue tie; his three swords were naturally at his side.

Ahead of him, he could see Luffy looking quite dapper in a black three-piece suit, white dress shirt and white tie facing his soon-to-be wife, Nami. She boasted a well fitted, knee length, v-neck, chiffon, white, flowy dress accented by white flats with lace details at the quarter. Dainty pearl earrings were in her ears. Her brilliant locks were tamed in an effortless goddess braid with a few wavy strands out to accentuate her face which gave her a flawless, casual look. Luffy was clearly the luckiest guy in the room.

Everyone's eyes turned to the approaching priest, Bartholomew Kuma. A large man in his forties known for his quiet nature. He stood at the altar rested down his Bible and addressed the small audience. His eyes were strangely hidden behind big silver shades.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to witness the holy matrimony of Luffy and Nami, son of the Monkey D. Corporation and daughter of the Mikan Grove Foundation. If anyone present has any objections or reason of any sort as to why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."

The room was silent. However, Zoro side-eyed the door tensely with a few sweat drops beading down his face. He waited, his ears alert. He heard muffled sounds ahead and looked to see Franky with a hand clamped firmly over Sanji's mouth as he struggled against him. Zoro made a face and shook his head. 'That idiot cook.'

A good three minutes passed and Bartholomew cleared his throat to continue where he left off. He opened his precious Bible and turned to a scripture.

"According to Mark 10:6-9, it reads: However, from the beginning of creation, 'He" made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother, and the two will become one flesh. Therefore, what Goda has yoked together, let no man put apart."

Zoro breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed in his chair. In the front row, an amused Bellemere had a hand rested on Genzo's shoulder as he sniffled; his eyes were moist. His little girl would be leaving him soon.

The priest pulled out a sheet of paper from the pocket of his Bible and told Luffy and Nami to repeat the assigned vows. Luffy held Nami's gaze; both were oh-so nervously thrilled.

"I, Monkey D. Luffy, take you as my wife, with your faults and your strengths as I offer myself to you with my faults and my strengths. I will help you when you need help, and turn to you when I need help. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life."

Nami could only stare at him. Not only did Luffy say those words -that were probably recited by many before him- she could tell that he meant every, single word.

Bartholomew tapped on the alter with his pen and Nami's stare diverted over to him.

"Nami-san; your vows."

"Oh...right...um. I, Nami, take you as my husband, with your faults and your strengths as I offer myself to you with my faults and my strengths. I will help you when you need help, and turn to you when I need help. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride."

Nami stopped breathing and her eyes widened. She completely forgot about that part. She rested a hand on her chest to steady herself ... and her heart.

Luffy cocked an eyebrow, tilted his head and thinks for a while; then his eyes locked with Nami's. He advanced forward and Nami shuts her eyes tightly, blinking them open when Luffy softly pecked her cheek. He pulled away and gave her a closed eyed grin and Nami's cheeks turned rosy pink and a tingle went up her spine. However, at the back of her mind, she could not help but feel a tad disappointed.

The room erupted in applause along with Franky's loud wailing and the short-lived ceremony came to an end. The fathers of the newlyweds made way to the altar where Bartholomew guided them all to a table standing in a corner where they were to sign the necessary documents to make it legally official.

 

Meanwhile, Zoro approached the group of friends whom were sitting in the middle row. They were conversing gaily among themselves. Sanji turned and smirked when he saw the swordsman making his way over.

"Finally made it, huh, Marimo? You should have just allowed Usopp to pick you up but you went ahead and got yourself lost."

"Shut up, Swirly Brows!"

"Huh?!"

"Anyway, guys. Guess who I ran into on my way here: Boa Hancock."

"Hancock-swan?!" Sanji was suddenly on his feet.

"Don't sweat it, cook. She's long gone."

"Damn you Marimo!" Sanji was burning with jealousy. He wanted to feast his eyes on the beaut for himself.

"Is it about Luffy?" asked Robin.

Zoro nodded. "She wanted to stop the whole wedding from ever happening."

A few gasps could be heard.

"Seriously? Should we tell Luffy?" Usopp asked out loud.

"No. It's best that he doesn't know." Zoro side smirked. "The captain's now a married man. We'll just have to leave things to the future."

 

When the signing concluded, Nami saw Nojiko coming over and she eagerly introduced her to her husband. Nojiko held out her hand with pleasure.

"It's nice to meet you. I wish the two of you the very best."

"Thanks!" Luffy responded brightly. Before another word could be said, Dragon called him over to where he was standing. He noticeably was just getting off the phone with a troubled look on his face.

Nojiko elbowed her best friend's arm. "He's cute, Nami."

"Don't get any bright ideas," Nami muttered before glancing over to where Luffy stood; only to see him looking terrified as his father spoke to him so she walked over.

"Luffy, something wrong?" she questioned.

Luffy's hand quickly grabbed Nami's wrist. "We have to go. Now."

"Why? What's going on?"

He looked from left to right and scurried out the door with a confused Nami in tow leaving a puzzled room.

Dragon closed his eyes and exhaled in frustration putting his cellphone away in his pocket. Genzo hurried up to him to find out what the hell was going on and why his daughter was suddenly kidnapped.

"Garp's on his way."

"Garp? You mean your old man?"

"Yup. Luffy beat me to it. I'll be on my way. I'll see you at lunch on Tuesday. " Dragon gave Genzo a strained smile with knotted eyebrows. On the outside he kept his cool, serious appearance but his mind was screaming at him to evacuate the building immediately. He wanted to get the hell out of there before the geezer showed up. Garp was not only annoying but a terrifying man who wouldn't hesitate to pound the living shit out of you.

 

Luffy ran off to a distant park which was found in close proximity of the government house; deciding to walk after a very irritated Nami protested that he slowed down.

"Sorry about that." Luffy rubbed his neck.

"Why did you run off like that?

"My grandpa was coming and I really didn't want to meet him. That guy's scary."

Nami rose and eyebrow at this. 'What's so scary about an old man?'

Luffy suddenly stopped walking. His jaw dropped and he had stars in his eyes. Nami looked ahead of her to see what he was so excited about and spotted a vacant bounce castle standing in colourful glory.

"So cool! I haven't seen one of those in ages! When last have you seen one, Nami?"

"I don't know, maybe when I was around eight..." she thought back to a birthday party she attended during her childhood.

"Let's go," he took a step forward preparing to run towards the thing.

"What? Luffy, you can't be serious- we're not kids."

"Come on! It'll be fun!" he took a hold of her wrist again and dashed towards it all while Nami complained. She was about to knock him over the head but Luffy jumped on and she happened to lose her balance and was pulled along with him.

Luffy laughed as he bounced a little while sitting down. Nami eased herself to sit beside him.

"Luffy, what if somebody sees us?" She knew that any self-respecting adult would not come close to doing something so embarrassing.

"Who cares?" he sang out all bubbly with laughter. He stood up and took hold of her hands and encouraged her to jump with him.

Nami was reluctant at first but Luffy's evident joy was infectious; clashed with how inappropriate they may look at that very moment caused her to laugh along with him. They must have looked ridiculous. Nevertheless, they were a sight to see. Two adults, just married, having carefree fun on a bounce castle, laughing their heads off. Some might call them crazy and on the other hand, those looking on with understanding would only see the spark of a budding relationship.

As soon as their little fun began, it soon came to an end. They turned to see a man approaching in the distance shouting at them to get off. It was Iceberg, the mayor of the nearby village who was passing through to check on the preparations for the children's fair to be hosted the following day. They could tell by the look on his face that he was far from pleased to see them.

Luffy and Nami quickly ran off before Iceberg started asking for names. They ran until they stopped at a bench surrounded by breezy trees (not too far from the park), trying to catch their breath between giggles and snorts. Nami sat down followed by Luffy and when they looked at each other, they burst into another round of plain old laughter.

"That was actually kind of fun." Nami said wiping a few tears off her cheeks.

"Told ya." Luffy chuckled to himself.

"Hey Luffy."

"Mm?"

"Let's do it."

"Do what?"

"Exchange rings," she stopped and narrowed her eyes at him."Did you forget?" They didn't have the opportunity to meet in order to pick out their rings so Nami suggested that they should personally select a ring for each other.

"Oh... uh" he dug into his pants pocket and sweat dropped. He stood up and searched elsewhere and was relieved to find what he was looking for in the hidden pocket of his jacket.

"Found it!" he grinned at settled back down.

Nami shuffled around in her small shoulder bag and pulled out a tiny black box of her own.

"I hope that you didn't buy anything too expensive, Luffy. You know how much I dislike the idea of wasting money."

"Yeah. I know."

Nami reached over for Luffy's left hand and slid a thick, gold, braided ring on his ring finger. He held up his and in front of him and ogled at it. Nami held out her hand to him and he presented a double banded, rope detailed ring with a flat, oval shaped and dark grey moissanite crystal.

"Luffy... it's lovely." How he managed to pick out such a ring was beyond Nami's comprehension. She wouldn't be surprised if he got some help.

"Why do we have to wear rings anyway?" Luffy asked. He could not understand the significance of a wedding ring.

"It means..." she was thinking of a simple way to make him comprehend. "It's a symbol that we're stuck with each other for the rest of our lives. Sounds terrible, huh?" she mused sarcastically.

"I don't mind. That's what marriage is all about, right?"

Nami smiled at him warmly with a nod of her head.

"I feel the same way."

Luffy grinned at her. He enjoyed the fluttery feeling he gets when he is around Nami. It was weird but nice. He noticed her inching over to his side and rest her head on his shoulder. On an impulse, he bent down and planted a kiss on her forehead. She blinked and stared at him with reddened cheeks. That had really caught her off guard.

"Hey. You hungry?"

"... A little."

"Let's go grab something." Luffy stood up, waited on Nami to do the same and headed up the path to a nearby small town. "We're going to the 'Party Bar.' That's where Makino works. She helped with looking after me as a kid growing up. You'll like her; she's super nice! Coming to think about it, she said that she wanted to meet you."

Nami hummed in response. She walked a step behind him and had her eyes fixated on his swaying hand. She stretched out her hand over to it but her fingers only grazed his but held back since she didn't want Luffy to think that she was a clingy woma; but soon felt him suddenly grasp her hand in his and her heart swelled and she quickened her steps so that they could walk together, shoulder to shoulder.

"Her food's great but not as good as Sanji's," he continued.

Nami glanced over to him and hesitated on whether she should ask Luffy a question that had been on her mind for quite some time.

"Hey, Luffy."

"Yeah?"

"What's your mom like?"

"Mom? I don't remember my mom... I'm not even sure if I have one."

"Everyone has a mom, silly."

"My dad never spoke about her so I didn't think that it mattered much." Luffy scratched the scar on his cheek in thought.

Nami began to think about her mom. She tried to vision life without her but it was impossible. Nothing could compare to a mother's love and she felt pity for her husband.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm not bothered by it the slightest."

She squeezed his hand a little and he squeezed back in response as if silently confirming that he was indeed okay.

"You know, Makino had a baby a few months ago. He's so cool!" laughed Luffy.

Nami perked up. She liked babies a whole lot.

"What's his name?"

"It's Toshiro. He does this cool thing where he blows spit bubbles the size of a grapefruit..." Luffy rambled on about Makino's bundle of joy and Nami listened to every word. They passed buildings and people were out and about on the streets going about their day. Some stopped to watch the odd pair. They could tell that they must have been married by the way they were dressed. It wasn't common to see a bride and a groom taking a casual walk around town on their wedding day. The couple however, didn't catch the weird looks for they were so engrossed in their conversation.

 

Makino finished checking on her son in the back room of the bar and returned to the counter to wipe out a glass jug her last customer used. The busy hours were over and she was preparing to go on her break. She looked up when she heard the door's bell ring as it was pushed open indicating that she had guests.

"Welcome!" she called out with a welcoming smile.

"Yo Makino," Luffy greeted as he walked in.

"Hi Luffy. So nice of you to stop by." she noticed a girl walk in with him. "Is this-"

"Look! I brought Nami to see you. Got any food?"

Makino pointed behind her and Luffy excitedly walked pass her to the back to raid the fridge. You could tell that he treated this place like his second home.

The bar lady stepped from behind the bar counter and went over to greet Nami.

"Oh my. Luffy's right! You are pretty." Nami blushed. "I'm so glad that we get a chance to meet. Luffy told me so much about you."

"Thank you. I'm pleased to meet you, Makino-san. Luffy said that you have a baby. Can I please see him?" Nami looked at her hopefully.

Makino blinked and smiled at her. "Of course, dear. Toshiro's just in the back playing by himself. Let's go see him together."

Nami followed her and as soon as she spotted the young one in his crib, silently babbling to himself, she walked over, placed both her hands on the crib and marveled at the little creature. Her eyes shined. He was adorable with his little feet and hands flailing about.

"C-Can I hold him?"

"Sure!"

Makino happily watched Nami carefully lift up Toshiro and adjusted him comfortably in her arms. The baby locked eyes with her and waved his hands about to grab a strand of loose hair that dangled close to his face. Nami gawked at the precious child.

"You're a pro at this. You must really adore kids."

"I do."

"Planning on having any of your own?" Nami's turned to Makino in surprise.

"Um.. yeah. I would love to." Her eyes refocused back down to look fondly at the baby. She let him grab a hold of her finger with his tiny hands. " Well not now- definitely not now. A little later in the future and if Luffy also wants kids..." she trailed off. They never really got around to talk about kids- it just never came up.

Luffy suddenly appeared in the room, feeling quite content that he got something to eat and was delighted to see that Toshiro was wide awake. He swiped the baby out of Nami's hold and lifted him up in the air and twirled him around.

"Toshi!" he cried.

Toshiro who was happy to see Luffy and was excited to be up high in the air so as a result he let out an array of mirth-like giggles.

Makino laughed along with him. Toshiro always loved it when Luffy came by to visit. She caught Nami's eye and looked at her with approval.

"You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

 

!

!

!

!

!

About three hours ago...

Hancock glared at the intruding swordsman.

"Move," she commanded.

"Why should I?

"Because," she looked down at him, "I'm beautiful. I also have to go save my man."

Zoro rolled his eyes, "Could you be possibly referring to Luffy?"

"Who else?"

"When are you going to stop being such a selfish bitch?"

Hancock stared angrily at him then her eyes widened when the swordsman re-sheathed his sword at his side. Seeing this, she stuck her nose in the air and moved to further enter into the building.

"Do you think that stopping the marriage would make Luffy happy?"

Hancock stopped dead in her tracks and turned back around to find Zoro with his arms folded, leaning against the wall, with a calm expression.

"Of course it will."

"You're only doing this for yourself."

"I'm doing this for us!"

Zoro humphed. "You really don't care about him, do you? If you really did care, you would damn well know that Luffy would not be pleased with what you're about to do."

Hancock's hardened eyes softened. She looked down and hugged herself.

"Does he... Does he care about her?"

"He does." Zoro thought back to the conversation he had with the witch. "And I can tell that she damn well cares a lot about him as well."

Hancock bit her lip after hearing the statement and a few tears came to settle in her eyes.

"What have you decided to do?" He couldn't see her face so he was unsure of what she was thinking.

Without answering him, with dignified grace, she walked passed him to the exit to call her driver.

For Luffy's happiness, she was willing to do anything even if it meant taking back her heart once and for all. She may not ever win his heart but she will surely work on being a person Luffy would be proud of. Even if it meant stepping down from her high horse.

To be cont'd...


	7. Chapter 7

Toshiro lay flat on his back, drifting away to sleep after getting a good fill of his mother's milk. He was trying his hardest to stay awake to play a little while longer with Luffy and his new friend with the pretty hair.

Smiles played on Luffy's and Nami's lips as they watched him reach his tiny fist up to rub his eyes in hopes to stay awake but to no avail, the drowsiness was taking over.

Nami stood, leaning over the crib with her hand resting on her chin. On the other hand, Luffy sat on his knees with his head resting in his folded arms prodded up on the crib's rail. He had taken off his jacket and suffocating tie and like Nami, had also discarded his shoes.

Makino was in the kitchen checking on the 'damage' that Luffy had done to her stock. Luckily, he didn't eat much to her relief.

Luffy stood up and over to whispered over to Nami that he was going to take a bathroom break. He ensured that he was quiet as a mouse while leaving, any sudden loud noises would surely startle the little one and Luffy knew that if that were to happen, they'll be hell to pay.

 

Upon leaving the restroom after relieving himself, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and found that Zoro was trying to call him.

"Yo, Zoro," Luffy answered cheerfully.

"Where are you? Garp's long gone but don't expect him to let you off the hook. The next time you meet, he said that he's going to give you a good pounding."

Luffy inadvertently gulped.

"Anyway, where are you? The guys wanna meet Na-"

Sanji grabbed the phone out of Zoro's grasp, much to the swordsman's annoyance.

"Oi, Luffy! How long do you plan on keeping the goddess from us (from me)?!"

Zoro's hand came to rest firmly on the cook's shoulder.

"Hand over my phone, swirly-cook."

"Huh!? I dare you to say that again, Marimo!"

The phone dropped to the floor and Luffy could hear the usual sound of shoes clashing against swords and couldn't help but laugh. Sanji and Zoro always amused him with their meaningless fighting.

Robin being closeby to the two reached down, retrieved the forgotten phone from the floor of the courtroom and obtained the much needed location from the captain. She like everyone else was eager to meet Nami. It was nice to have a female to hang out with besides the boys.

Robin transferred the news to the crew and they all left the empty room to enter the parking lot. Usopp was assigned to drive Franky and Zoro while Sanji, Chopper and Brook were left to Robin.

Sanji noticed Zoro walking in the complete opposite direction, face palmed and grabbed him by the back of his shirt collar and headed over to meet up with the others. He didn't know why it always seemed like he was always left to babysit the directionally challenged marimo.

 

When they arrived to the familiar alcohol scented bar with its homey feel, they greeted Makino at the counter who was busy preparing for her most welcomed and favoured customers. She was found conversing with the lady of the hour who sat with her feet dangling at a bar stool. She got up to meet them.

As they all piled in, Luffy appeared before them.

"Hey guys!"

"Out of the way, shitty captain!" Sanji pushed Luffy to the side and hastened forward to meet the mellorine. He had waited all day for this moment. He bowed and took Nami's hand causing her to blink at his formality.

"Dearest, Nami-swan. Your prince has arrived."

"Prince of Dumb-Ass Kingdom," Zoro scoffed.

"Huuuh!?" he turned with burning eyes to look at the green-haired swordsman,"Wanna fight?!"

"Bring it!"

Nami cringed as she watched the two fight so violently before her.

"Don't mind them," Franky said stepping forward and striking his famous pose, "The name's Franky. I am a superrr shipwright and inventor. Anything you need fixed or made, I'm your man!"

Brook introduced himself next after the shipwright. He was an alarmingly skinny old man with towering height, sporting a magnificent afro.

"It's a pleasure to be in your presence, Nami-san. I'm Brook; a musician," he bowed, "One quick question, though. May I please see your panties?"

Nami gave him a dirty look.

Sanji came over and kicked the perverted old man in his shin saying that he shouldn't ask a lady that; even though he wouldn't mind seeing panties himself. He was a gentleman, not a pervert.

Zoro seated himself at the bar counter and Makino served him two jugs of his favourite beer. He grinned before dousing one down his anticipating throat. He had to hand it to Luffy. A bar was not a bad place to hide away. He was a man who loved his alcohol.

Usopp and Chopper said hi to her quickly and playfully grabbed Luffy to secure a spot at the back of the bar so they could probably start farming fool.

"It's nice to meet you all." Nami greeted. They were a weird, unique bunch; however, she thought that she might as well get along with them since they were friends of Luffy's and all.

Just then, Robin pushed forward from standing behind the group and and Nami watched her approach and strangely hooked arms with her before 'dragging' her over to the bar table where the two could be seated and have a chat. She ordered a pair of martinis for them both before turning to strike up the conversation.

"Hello, Nami. My name is Nico-"

"Nico Robin, right?"

"Yes... It seems like you've heard of me."

"Of course. You're a world famous archeologist. I admire your work. Let's just say that I am a huge fan of yours." Nami smiled at the raven haired beauty. She was excited to meet an idol of hers.

"I'm also a fan of yours."

"Huh?" asked Nami.

"Nami, daughter of the Mikan Grove Foundation; known locally by map enthusiasts for your intricate works in cartography."

Nami blushed at the praise and grinned cheekily as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Come on. I'm not that great," she mused.

"I've been closely following your work. My all-time favourite map is the one you drew of the Lesser Antilles."

"... I didn't place first in that though."

"True but you could just tell how much dedication and skill you put into making it. I would've been quick to give you first place if I were a judge. Your work is truly remarkable."

"Thanks. That really encouraged me."

Robin smiled at her an took a sip of her drink. Nami did the same and Robin's eyes flashed on the ring that graced her finger.

"May I?"

Nami glanced back over to her and saw her eyeing her ring.

"Oh, sure." She held her hand out and Robin inspected it with carefully trained eyes of an archaeologist.

"Luffy has good taste. This ring, though simple, is stunning."

"I agree- wait. Did Luffy pick out this ring by himself?" She gave the older woman a disbelieving look.

"Yes... and no. The captain actually sought my advice on what sort of ring he should get for you. He mentioned that you wanted something affordable so I gave him a few pointers such as different types of cost-friendly stones, size and quality. But most importantly, I told him to choose something that he thought would suit you best."

Nami's cheeks tinged pink.

"Captain?"

Robin smiled again at her new lady companion. She was really good company.

"Oh- it's just a pet name we use to call Luffy. In fact, all of us here are part-time workers of Monkey D. Corp. Each of us play a particular role in our little group. We were actually personally selected by Luffy-san to be a part of his team. We may be his employees but we share close bonds of friendship... He has a way of seeing the best in people.

Robin stared back amused at Nami. Her mouth was in an 'o' shape, clearly surprised at the newfound information.

"You know..." Robin started, moving closer to the young woman to whisper in her ear. As the silent words were being exchanged, Nami's eyes trailed over to where Luffy was and found that he was talking and joking around with his friends.

When Robin retracted, Nami furrowed her eyebrows at her and she gave the young cartographer a playful wink.

Around the same time, Franky was observing the two ladies chat away with his fingers holding his strong chin.

"I don't know, Luffy-bro... Nami-sis seems like the elegant lady type."

"Who? Nami?" he burst out laughing rather loudly which unfortunately didn't go unheard by the two ladies; most specifically his wife.

"Nami's no lady. She snores and sh-"

Suddenly, he felt a solid fist punch him at the side of the face sending him to the floor. The crew fell silent and was astonished to see Nami, standing over him with irritation written all over her face.

Luffy sprang back up on his feet and leaned into Nami's face looking as upset as she.

"Oi, Nami! What was that for?"

"Don't tell them that!" she argued back, leaning forward causing him to back up just a bit. She was embarrassed that Luffy had caught her snoring- a trait of hers that she was not the least proud of.

"Why not? I think that it's cute."

His words threw her off guard and she could only gape at her significant other. He stared back at her with knitted eyebrows and a small frown. She could tell that he was being entirely honest.

The crew looked back and forth at the exchange before them and soon exploded into laughter. They couldn't help themselves. Nami turned and rose a shaking fist in annoyance wondering which one of the bunch would have liked a good pounding first for daring to laugh at her.

Usopp walked over to her and threw and arm across her shoulders with a wide grinning face.

"Cheers," he shouted, raising his drink in the air.

"Cheers!" the others chimed back.

Nami glanced at each of their happy faces and found that she was warming up to the sprightly group. It was odd but she felt like she belonged.

And just like that, the crew instantly fell in love with Nami.

Luffy cheered along with the everyone else even though he had no idea what the cheering was about. He stopped to look around and noticed that one of his crew members missing.

"Hey," he began, "Where's Sanji?"

"He said something about going to the grocery store to buy some ingredients," answered Chopper who was busy chowing delightfully on a huge lollipop gifted to him by Makino.

"Really?!" Luffy asked. His mouth salivated as he thought about the savory taste of Sanji's cooking.

Usopp looked over to a corner of the bar and got an idea. He ran over to the bar counter and requested some darts from the barlady before returning to the group.

"Hey, guys. Which one of you could try to beat me at a game of darts?"

"As if!" Franky retorted.

"You're on your own, Usopp." Zoro said turning back to the counter to finish his third helping of beer.

Everyone knew that Usopp always was on point with his marksman skills. That long-nose never missed a mark. All he ever wanted to do like any other day was show off.

"Come on!" Usopp whined.

"We'll play!" Luffy, Chopper and Brook sang as they all took up individual darts to begin the game. Usopp knew all too well that neither of them stood a chance against his mad skills but he was glad for the little competition.

Nami made way back over to Robin and upon sitting back down, she reached for her unfinished martini. She paused after hearing Robin chuckling at her.

"What?"

"Cheers."

Nami smiled wryly at her and clinked her glass with the infamous woman before drinking down the rest of her drink in one go. The alcohol burned her throat the way she liked it and she thought that she would not mind having a few more drinks.

The front door was flung open causing the bell to ring out at its force. In came the blond chef carrying a few grocery bags with precious ingredients. He waltzed over to the ladies and bowed before them.

"My beautiful mellorines. I, chef Sanji, will now prepare a delicacy for your palates."

Makino clapped her hands in delight. She had always loved it when Sanji cooked up a little something for her when he visited. Not only were his dishes to die for but they were always spot on. After all, it wasn't everyday you get the opportunity to eat gourmet from a five-star chef.

Nami then remembered that she was hungry. She had forgotten all about that after being completely absorbed with Toshiro.

"Are they always like this?" she asked Robin. The sounds of kitchen tools could be heard as the chef prepared his area for the preparation of his dish.

"Pretty much but it doesn't take long to get used to."

In less than no time, two plates were presented in front of them them on the counter, Makino could be seen already taking a bite out of her meal. On each plate were probably the most carefully prepared ham, cheese and vegetable sandwiches that Nami had ever seen. The taste was just as good. She gave her regards to the chef which made Sanji swoon.

Luffy ran up to the counter wiping his uncontrollable drools with the cuff of his shirt. The sandwiches smelled heavenly and Luffy definitely wanted a piece of the action.

"Sanji, where's our share?"

"I only serve the ladies," Sanji said while preparing to light a cigarette.

"Hey, no fair!" the captain whined.

"Here, you can have a piece of mine, Luffy." Nami decided that she wouldn't mind sharing a piece of her share since she wasn't that hungry to begin with. She could not blame him, the sandwich was delicious.

"Really, Nami? Thanks!" He reached out to take the piece held out to him but stopped himself.

"No. That's okay."

"You sure? Well okay- your loss." said Nami as she turned back to her dish.

Robin and Sanji were in awed silence. Sanji then looked down behind the bar and presented a platter of sandwiches which made Luffy's eyes lit up.

"This is for you and the rest of the shit-heads," the cook said handing the platter over to Luffy.

The captain excited to receive them was just about to turn around when Sanji grabbed his face with a firm hand squishing his cheeks and mouth causing them to purse out. The blond looked deadly at is captain.

"Make sure that you share them with everyone. Is that clear?"

Luffy nodded quickly with sweat settling on his forehead. When Sanji released him, he obediently ran over back to the others to share like the good captain he was.

Nami sweat dropped at the unusual display that had just taken place.

Robin giggled, "Well that was different. You seem to have a good effect on Luffy, Nami."

"Huh? How so?" Nami questioned.

"I'm surprised myself. He's never been one to give up on offered food- no matter what... Now," Sanji began. He clasped his hands together, with a heart in his visible eye," Can I get you ladies anything else?"

Outside the sun was setting and the skies scourged with orange hue. Stores were on the verge of closing and persons were on the way home for supper. The evening continued on at Party's Bar including a few rounds of Poker which Nami triumphed through winning some cash in the process. She even won at a drinking contest to the drunkard of a swordsman. The rest of the day went unknowingly by but one thing was for sure: Nami blended right in.

Robin paid close attention to the two newly weds in particular. The short and sweet stares and smiles shared between the two didn't go unnoticed by her watchful eyes.

Luffy truly didn't have bad taste at all.

To be continued.... 


	8. Chapter 8

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."- When Harry Met Sally

 

It was the next day and Nami laid awake in her bed attempting to rub the exhaustion from her eyes.  A familiar scent caught her nose and she looked down to find that she was wearing Luffy's jacket and still donned her wedding dress.

She eased herself up in a sitting position which she immediately regretted. She was hungover; had a pulsing migraine and was nauseated. To add to that, she was parched.

She decided to freshen up first, neatly folding Luffy's jacket with a smile on her lips, setting it aside on her bed. She slipped out of her dress and changed into comfy grey, plaid trousers and a white camisole. Her hair, now frazzled was then loosened and she allowed it to glide over her shoulders. As she splashed water on her face, she couldn't help but feel like she was forgetting something rather important.

As soon as she brought her head back up, her migraine began to hurt ten times more and she whined at how horrible she felt. She wanted water- now.

She left her room and headed for the stairs, ensuring that she was careful with each step. After reaching almost midway down, she stopped in her tracks. From the staircase, she peered into the living room and was surprised to see Luffy sitting on the sofa accompanied by her mom and Nojiko. The sofa was facing the opposite way but she could see that they were looking through some albums and were having a friendly conversation. A wave of happiness rushed over her but was replaced with a sickly feeling coming up her throat so she quickly but quietly ran back to the confinements of her room.

 

Nojiko turned to look up the stairway and told the other seat occupants that she was going to check to see if Nami had woken up as yet. It was almost nine in the morning.

She found her hunched over her toilet, spilling out the contents of her gut; she cringed at the sound and worriedly went over to her sister to massage her back.

"You okay?" asked Nojiko.

"Do I look okay?"

"... Guess what? Luffy's here."

Nami breathed heavily over the bowl before emptying whatever remained in her gut for the third time. Nojiko looked at her and smirked watching her flush the toilet and proceeding to brush her teeth at the basin.

"Are you pregnant?"

Nami who was in the middle of rinsing, spat out water all over the bathroom mirror and turned around to stare at her sister with a horrified look.

"What? No!"

"Okay, okay," Nojiko mused, "I'm just messing with ya. Can I get you anything?"

Nami wiped her face with a green towel and left the bathroom to sit at the in front her bed.

"Yeah. Can you bring me some painkillers and a bottle of water, please?

"Sure thing. I'll be right back." Nojiko said while leaving the room.

Nearly five minutes had passed when Nami heard a knock on her door. She looked up at the opening door and saw Luffy stepping in grinning when he saw her. He was dressed casually with a red plain T-shirt and jeans reaching his knees. She smile weakly at him.

"Hi."

"Hey," he said joining her on the carpeted floor, "You don't look so good."

He handed her the requested items and she she swallowed the tablets and drank the water after thanking him. She rested the almost empty bottle at her side and opened her arms out towards him. Luffy more than willing, consumed her in his warmth; she wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled into his shoulder. All she wanted at that moment was to be held by him.

"My head hurts soooo much right now," she slurred.

Luffy lifted his hand and gently rubbed the very top of her head causing Nami to close her eyes and sigh at the soothing feeling. It was doing wonders.

"Hey Luffy?"

"Mm?"

"We didn't do anything stupid last night, did we?

"No - like what?"

Nami opened her eyes slowly but closed them back and held him a little more tighter.

"Forget it. It doesn't matter. I just had something on my mind. That's all."

"Okay."

"What brings you here today, Luffy?"

"Last night, I told you that I was going to come by to spend some time with you."

"Oh... yeah."

Thinking about it, she remembered him telling her exactly that after Robin had given them a lift. She was always one to hold her alcohol well but it seemed to had messed with her memory a bit.

As Nami rested in his arms, Luffy looked around her simple, yet nicely decorated room with its blue bed sheets, cream coloured walls with a few portraits of paintings and some framed maps. However, what was most most noticeable of all was that the room smelled like her. Just like Nami.

Some time had passed when Nami loosened out of the embrace and beamed at him saying that she had an idea. Luffy watched her curiously as she got up and went over to her closet and pulled out a jacket. Luffy was glad that she had mostly gone back to her usual self and was spewing questions on what she had in mind.

"You'll see."

 

Bellemere was occupied reading the label of the fancy wine Luffy had brought. He said something about his dad insisting that he brought something and she was grateful.

She looked up from the kitchen and saw Luffy along with her daughter coming down the stairs and they were coming her way.

"Morning Sunshine. Feeling better?"

"Morning, mom. I feel a lot better." Nami looked in the cupboard to find her trusty old basket.

"Thanks again for the wine, Luffy," Bellemere said grinning from ear to ear.

"No problem." He was pleased that it was received well.

Bellemere looked over and saw that Nami had produced a sizeable woven basket.

"Where are you two off to?"

"We'll be in the orchard at the back doing some harvesting," Nami replied.

"Okay. Well have fun and turn on the pipes for me when you get out there."

"Sure." Nami took Luffy's hand and and headed for the door. Just then Nojiko who was busy watching television turned after overhearing what was being said.

"Can I come?"

"No." Nami said firmly and what followed was the sound of the door sliding shut.

Nojiko flinched and sank back in the chair muttering about how stingy Nami was.

Bellemere laughed, "What do you think about him? A charm isn't he?"

Nojiko rolled her eyes and smiled, "It's obvious that she's smitten about him. He is a bit too simple minded but he's got potential."

Bellemere nodded proudly to herself as if she was the very matchmaker. She took two glasses out of the top cupboard and popped open the wine bottle.

"Want some?"

 

Nami bent down to turn on the pipes so that the small mikan grove could get its early morning drink. They had other orchards in a couple other locations in the countryside but had this one for their own personal use.

"Wow!" Luffy exclaimed,"I've never seen so many orange trees in one place!"

Nami regarded him smugly. She was quite proud of the mikan trees that she helped cultivate.

"Just wait till you try one; It'll knock your socks off."

They set out to start picking. However, Nami had to smack Luffy's hands away from the precious oranges that were not full enough just yet. She tried advising him on which ones were more favourable but gave up and made him in charge of basket duty.

During their little escapade, Nami rambled extensively about oranges. She couldn't help herself since she had been around the very trees for almost all her life. Luffy listened intently. He could tell how much she valued the fruit and he actually thought that it was kind of cute. They arrived at a particular tree that Luffy soon learned she had planted as a little girl, with the help of her parents. She checked the branches and was astonished to find a huge mikan which was almost the size of a well developed grapefruit.

"Nee Nami. Can I have one now?"

"Not yet, Luffy." That was the sixth time he asked her.

Luffy slumped, "Just one, please?"

A strong wind blew and brushed some loose strands of hair in his face which she combed back with her fingers revealing his eyes.

Luffy looked at Nami with a pout and she smiled at how adorable he was at the moment. A sheet of comfortable silence overcame them.

"Let's take a break," she said indicating to a picnic bench not too far from where they stood.

Luffy shuffled over excitedly and rested the basket on the table top but before he could reach in to grab one, Nami sat opposite him and and snatched the basket away. His jaw dropped and before he could whine some more, he heard Nami address him in a tone that meant that she had something important to say.

"What is it?" he asked.

She reached a hand over to him and he placed his hand over hers.

"We took a huge step yesterday- a huge step for both our lives."

Luffy nodded.

"Listen. I did not choose to marry you out of convenience. I'm serious about you... and all I want is for our relationship to work. I don't expect you to be perfect- no one is. There will of course be challenges, obstacles and disagreements between us but I know that whatever they may be, we'll pull through together."

Luffy weaved his fingers with hers and she instinctively did the same.

"Me too. I'm also serious about you, Nami- about us. It's more than just a feeling," he scratched the back of his head in deep thought. Though it was starting to hurt from thinking too hard.

"What I'm trying to say is that feelings have a habit of changing. And when it comes to you it's more than just feelings... It's deeper than that. Does that make sense?"

Nami stared blankly at first, then with understanding and a little help of a few butterflies, she gave him a winning smile. The smile where her lips pull back showing almost all her teeth and her eyes will light up, almost as if they sparkled; and that was all the confirmation he needed.

"That was a very sweet thing to say, Luffy."

"Did that make you happy?"

"Mmhmm," she nodded.

Luffy smiled broadly at her in return. He didn't know why but he felt like he had just conquered the world.

Nami eased out of the bench and stood straight up on her feet with a clenched fist and a determined look in her eyes.

"Let's go. We have more picking to do."

 

After the harvest and one full basket later, they found a suitable spot under a shady tree and settled down preparing to snack on the overdue fruit. Nami fished around in the basket for the particular mikan she found earlier and handed it over to Luffy.

"It's huge!" he said, "Let's share it."

"Why? There's plenty more oranges to go around."

"Come on- let's share- let's share~. " he nagged. Nami sighed at his childish  
antics.

"Oh, all right."

Luffy struggled to peel the mikan so Nami took it from him and carefully peeled the fruit with ease. She filed out a good wedge and fed it to him.

"It's good! Super sweet too."

"Told ya." Of course her oranges were to die for. She would not have forgiven him if he had said otherwise.

She peeled off a slice to have one for herself but Luffy grabbed it from her fingers and stuffed it in his face and stole the fruit from her hand.

"Hey!" she turned to him upset and was greeted with a slice in front her face.

"Say Ahh."

She leered at him with narrowed eyes and gave him a disbelieving look but ate it nevertheless. Luffy grinned at this and she smiled at him before looking off, relishing the mikan's sweet juice as it flooded her mouth.

Luffy put an arm around her, pulled her gently against his side and planted a kiss on her forehead for a good three seconds, just a little above her eyebrows.

Nami's eyes widened and she quickly looked down to hide her burning face. There was always this annoying pitter-patter of her heart whenever he did that but there was no way she was going to deny that she liked it.

"...Hey Luffy. Have you started packing as yet?"

A look of realization came over his face as he chewed on a slice before giving her another.

"Uh..." he looked to the side, pursed his lips and sweat dropped, "Yeah."

"Liar," Nami almost laughed. Monkey D. Luffy was a terrible liar. It was written all over his face.

"So what? By the looks of it, you haven't started packing either so we're even," he huffed and folded his arms.

Nami blinked and blushed in embarrassment. She was honestly planning to start that day.

"I'll start as soon as I get home..." Luffy muttered under his breath. He breathed a sigh. The thought of packing seemed so boring.

"I can come over and help you pack tomorrow if you'd like."

"That'll be awesome! Thanks, Nami."

Nami nodded at him with a smile. She didn't have that much packing to do since most of her clothing had to be donated and she was in need of some new clothes to begin with. As for her maps, she decided to leave most of them behind and just opted to walk with her equipment and a few of her favourite creations.

She leaned against his shoulder so that their shoulders were touching and she lifted the basket and put it between them.

"Let's eat. These oranges aren't going to eat themselves. Have you ever lived anywhere away from home, Luffy?" she asked while peeling an orange.

"No. Not really. Have you?"

"No. I've always lived with my parents."

"Yeah. It has always been me and my dad... but you know what?"

"What?" Nami looked up at his grinning face.

"I can't wait."

To be continued....


	9. Chapter 9

Luffy and Nami walked back to the house; Luffy carried the same basket with a few extra oranges for the others inside and some to take home to his dad. Nami on the other hand, hummed merrily to herself since they decided to go out for brunch. She was excited because it was their first date together- she just needed to shower and have a quick change.

"Hey, Nami. How are those maps you've been working on coming along?" asked Luffy.

"I'm surprised that you remembered about that."

"Of course I remember. They're important to you, right?"

"Right," she smiled, "I have actually started on some pieces but they're mostly drafts... let's have a look at them when we get back. I'll show you what I've been working on."

Nami had a passion for re-creating maps accurately, drawn strictly by hand. She freelances and her very own work has been in high demand due to its seamless precision which enables her to be rewarded with first-rate commision. She takes her cartography seriously and she hopes that her maps would become more recognised around the globe.

 

Nami stepped out of Luffy's convertible car into the carpark of the Baratie Restaurant wearing a gray, quarter length sleeved blouse with cut-out shoulders along with jeans and chunky heeled sandals. Her hair was fixed into a loose textured bun.

Luffy locked the car and they both walked hand in hand to the main entrance.

He saw a brown-skinned man with a headband over his short, spiky, black hair, sporting a blue track suit coming down the same path. He was carrying a take-out container in a plastic bag evidently coming from the restaurant.

"Yo, Gin!" Luffy greeted him after recognizing his old friend.

Gin acknowledged him with a nod of the head and went along his way.

"Who was that?" Nami asked. The man's dark circles under his eyes and his natural scowl indicated that he was a not-so friendly person.

"That's Gin; an ex gang member of the Don Krieg Family. It was not easy for him to quit at first being a loyal member and all but a few things happened and now he's working on getting his life back together.

"That's good. I've heard a lot about that gang; going around harming people and their random acts of pillaging stores in the city."

"Yeah. It's admirable when people make something of themselves after going through out of hard times. It takes a lot of guts to do that."

They entered the building and were guided to a table located at a window where all the carrying-ons of the street could be viewed.

The stand in waiter, Patti, noticed the presence of the chief chef's companion, also one of their most regular customers, Monkey D. Luffy. Usually he would be causing a commotion, ordering every meat item off the menu but today was different. He had a guest with him and was not being all loud and annoying about getting food. Last thing he heard was that he had gotten married.

He believed that the customers were gods and he cared about offering exceptional service. He stoned himself after finishing with the collection of the previously seated guests and approached the two who seemed to be engrossed in a conversation.

"May I have your order?" he intervened.

The lady turned to him and looked at him like he had interrupted an extremely important discussion. His welcoming smile strained as sweat beaded down his face. Luffy addressed him with his usual high spirited self then told him that they were not ready as yet to order and resumed the conversation.

Patti looked questionably at him but dismissed the subject and walked off to give the chef the orders he had already written down.

Patti entered the kitchen and spotted the damn bastard of a chief chef, Sanji. He was pissed off at the cook. If the oh so great Sanji would have been a bit more nice, they would still have waiters but he went on scaring all of them off. The reason being for his temporary sit in as one which he despised. He was a cook not no damn waiter.

Sanji was in the middle of taste testing a soup, one of the chefs had simmering on one of the many stoves. He was glad that the old fart was out of town, leaving him in charge of the restaurant. He was able to handle the kitchen without him constantly criticising his every move.

Patti handed Carne the list of orders and turned to the object of his suffering.

"The Monkey brat is here with some lady friend," he said.

Sanji's ears tweaked at this and checked the kitchen blinds scanning the dining room and he successfully scouted out the sweet Nami-san.

"Quick! Give me the list of what she ordered," Sanji demanded. He would personally pour his heart out in making whatever it was that she desired.

"They haven't made an order as yet," said Patti.

"Huh?!" Sanji glared darkly at the shitty excuse of a waiter before kicking him out of the room; ordering him to return as soon as possible with the delayed order.

Patti begrudgingly went back out to the dining area and saw the pair looking at their menus. Thankfully they were ready to make their order when he made the second trip to their table.

Soon after, Luffy and Nami received their plates of deliciously smelling food. Luffy ordered a hearty brunch selection of sausages, bacon, eggs, toast, a stack of pancakes drizzled with maple syrup, decorated by a few strawberries and blueberries and a large bacon breakfast pizza. Nami ordered coffee, an avocado eggs benedict, cinnamon french toast and two strawberry waffles. Luffy offered Nami some of his meat, claiming that she didn't order enough food. However, after she had a taste of his helping, she was forking up more and more. The breakfast pizza was scrumptious.

Sanji observed them bickering away as they ate and was ecstatic that they- especially Nami-san- were enjoying themselves.

When the time came to pay, Luffy sat rubbing his filled stomach. The food was great as always but strangely enough, it tasted better that day. He found that he actually took his time while eating with Nami so he got to savour the food more. It was so unlike him. Nami also had quite an appetite. He had to fend off his plate from her but all in all it was a good meal.

Nami instinctively took out her wallet to retrieve her card to make the payment. Sanji who just happened to check on them at that very moment, eyes burned in fury at what was about to happen. He then quickly removed his apron, straightened his suit and approached the couple and the half-assed substitute waiter.

"Oh, Sanji! How's it going?" said Luffy.

Sanji ignored him, " Good day, Nami-san. Did you have a nice brunch?"

"It was very good. Compliments to the chef."

Though Sanji wanted to bask in the praise and the very idea of being in the presence of an angel, he had more important issues to take care of.

He only thanked her with a smile then he grabbed Luffy's back shirt collar causing the captain to stare at him in confusion.

"I hope you don't mind me borrowing Luffy for few minutes," he said almost dragging Luffy toward the kitchen.

"You too, Patti," Sanji called before slamming the kitchen door shut.

In the kitchen, Luffy's nostrils were filled with the smell of yummy food completely oblivious of the upset cook standing in front of him.

"Luffy."

"What?"

"The most important thing for a man to do, is to take care of his lady," lectured Sanji.

Luffy gave him a neutral look having little to no clue what the cook was talking about.

Sanji clenched his cigarette between his teeth and grabbed his captain by the shirt and stared him dead in the eye.

"Don't let Nami-san pay for the meal, dumbass. Now go back out there and be a man!" He then shoved Luffy and the shitty waiter out his kitchen.

Luffy sat back down in his seat and Nami asked,

"What was that all about?"

"It's just Sanji being Sanji. By the way Nami, I'll take care of it."

He didn't plan on making her pay for the meal that he invited her to initially. However, Sanji mentioned something rather important. He reached into his pocket and handed the waiter his card.

"Okay," Nami said. Maybe next time, they could split the bill. Eating out was expensive. "That really hit the spot, huh? I wonder where we should go to next."

"We should head back. Nojiko's leaving tonight, right? I don't want you to regret not enjoying the rest of the time you have left with her while she's still here."

Nami looked down and felt a slight tug at her heart. Nojiko had taken some time out of her busy schedule to come see her and it wasn't a guarantee that her next visit would be anytime soon.

"... You're right."

The waiter returned and the two got up and headed for the door holding hands.

"Where'd you like to go next when we get the chance?" Luffy asked.

"Hmmm... where would you like us to go?"

Luffy's mood heightened as he thought about all the great places they could go. "There's this really cool place..."

Nami listened on with a gentle smile on her face. She was never really the outdoorsy type but was sure that anywhere with Luffy was bound to be fun. Truth be told that she was immensely curious about him. About the things that made him happy; heck even the things that made him sad; his likes and his dislikes. She wanted to know it all. He said that he wanted to be in charge of her happiness and honestly, she wanted to do the same.

 

The next day, Luffy and Nami could be found in Luffy's room taking a break after boxing assorted items; getting things ready for the big move.

It was a typical guy's room. Luffy had posters of his favourite anime characters on the walls, an untidy bookshelf packed with manga and adventure novels and clothes scattered around in the mid stages of packing. Already sealed boxes lay close to the door to be taken downstairs for the moving company to transport to the apartment.

Luffy was on his back with one of his favourite manga he found at the back of his closet that he nearly forgot he owned. He had it in his face, snickering to himself when he came upon a funny part. Nami laid on the floor next to him on her belly flipping through one herself. She had a hand prodded on her chin and was not amused. A gold bangle was on her wrist; gifted to her by Nojiko as a departing gift- she had a matching one of her own. The manga was mostly about robots and fictional heroes and she could never understand why guys were so into those sorts of things.

She closed the book, sat up and looked over at Luffy who had a mild grin on his face.

"Hey, Luffy?"

"Hm?" Luffy asked dismissing his comic.

Nami traced a finger across his crescent shaped scar.

"How did you get this scar?"

Luffy sat up, scratched his scarred cheek and laughed nervously. "It's an interesting story, actually."

More like a dumb story. He was young and stupid and the wound he gave himself hurt like hell.

"It happened when I was around 7 or 8 years old or so. My dad made me accompany him to a World Peace convention. It was so boring but one speaker stood out to me. He was amazing and spoke a lot about his travels around the world and what he had done to make a difference wherever her went. He had this vibe about him and I looked up to him almost as much as I did my dad. His name was Shanks. I begged my dad to meet him and we became instant friends."

Nami's eyes widened after hearing the name. "Shanks? Red-haired Shanks?"

She heard his name a few times on the news. He was an influential man and did great things during is travels.

"That's incredible."

Luffy grinned and nodded.

He continued, "When it was time to leave, I- well, you can say that I practically begged him to to take me on as an apprentice but he told me that I was just a kid and things could get pretty dangerous. I wasn't happy about that so I wanted a way to prove myself to him... Shanks invited my dad and I to dinner with him and his friends- Usopp's dad is one of them though.

At the restaurant, I was still clearly pissed after being called a kid. I took one of the steak knives off the table while the adults were busy talking and stood at the highest point of the restaurant I could find; called out to Shanks and told him that I was gonna prove myself; that I was fearless and not just a kid. The whole restaurant became completely silent besides my dad shouting at me to get down and Shanks making fun of me, and calling me names. In frustration, I took the knife and stabbed myself. It was one of the most painful moments in my life. My dad and Shanks literally freaked out and I had to get stitches right away. There was so much blood."

He exaggerated by spreading his arms but dropped them when he saw Nami's face. Her face fell and her eyes were glossy.

"Oh my God, Luffy. What if you had lost an eye or something?"

"I know. It wasn't a smart decision. I didn't think things through back then."

"Don't hurt yourself like that again, okay?" She leaned in to stare seriously into his eyes, "Promise me that you won't ever hurt yourself like that again."

"I promise."

She didn't have to tell him twice. There was no way he planned on revisiting a painful experience like that ever again.

"I have something to show you," Luffy grinned, scrambled to his feet and disappeared into his closet; only to return with a round shaped box which he rested on her lap and sat back down besides her.

"What is it?" Nami asked curiously as she removed the top.

"It's a straw-hat that Shanks gave me before we parted ways."

Nami took out the battered straw-hat- it had a red ribbon at its base- and she held it carefully in her hands.

"It's my treasure. I swore to Shanks that I was going to grow up and be a thousand times more great than he could ever be and he gave me his cool hat. He said to return it to him after I had accomplished my goal. I used to wear it every single day but had to put it away because it was getting all worn out and some of the straws had gotten loose."

Nami lifted the hat and pressed it gently on Luffy's head. He realised at that moment how much he had missed the familiar feel of the hat on. It had a much more loose fit when he got it at first but now if fit like a glove and he could smell the aroma of the old straw.

Nami seeing the intense joy in his eyes could only smile warmly at him.

"This hat is your treasure, right? It's also a reminder of your vow to pursue your dream. I'm sure that this hat nor you like the idea of it being stuck in a stuffy, old box. Tell you what," she eased the hat off and returned it to the box," I'll mend this hat myself for you and I'll ensure that I do a good job at getting it back almost like new again. You can count on me." She replaced the lid and looked at him confidently.

"Really? You're the best Nami!"

"By the way, Luffy. Can you tell me more about what you do? Robin told me that she and the guys are a part of your team at Monkey D. Corp. What's that all about?"

"Yeah. I told you what my dad does, right? I look up to him a whole lot; although he gets touchy when I ask him to about his past," Luffy chuckled to himself. " He assigns recruits to sometimes distant parts of the earth to scout out any form of inhumane practices as well as expose them and help the people caught up in those circumstances. On few occasions, he has also provided financial aid for underdeveloped countries.

I, along with my team, assist him but we don't always follow the rules so things aren't always done in ways that he thinks is fit. He has confidence in my judgement, though... You would be amazed at the many secrets this world is hiding."

Nami hung on to every word. She could definitely tell how much Luffy loved what he did. It was enlightening.

"This one time, my dad stopped an illegal operation funded by the world government that sought to connect islands by a man-made bridge. They claimed to be using only prisoners but it was later found out that innocent people- even children- were forced into building it. It was terrible."

"Wow. How did they get away with that? That's disgusting." Nami was in utter disbelief. Just the thought of mere children being forces to do that made her heart sting.

"Yeah. I know exactly how you feel. My dad was able to save those people but what was sad was that the government was able to cover it all up... but what really mattered at the end of the day was that those people were able to go back home and be reunited with their families. And to my dad, that was more than enough."

"Your dad's a hero. I can understand why you admire him so much."

"He is," Luffy agreed, thinking about how fortunate he was to have such an awesome father.

 

Luffy left Nami upstairs to seek some snacks and refreshments. When he stepped into the kitchen, he immediately regretted it. Standing before him was his grandpa, back turned , searching for his all time favourite rice crackers in the cupboards. His jacket was tossed carelessly on the breakfast table along with his car keys. it was an unexpected visit because he hardly visited at all.

Before Luffy could tip-toe out of there, his grandpa called him without even having to turn around.

'Shit.' "Hey, Gramps." his forced grin twitched and his palms were becoming a little sweaty.

Garp- after finding what he was looking for- turned around, stuffing his face with the favoured crackers, littering crumbs all over his dress shirt and the clean floor.

"Where's that bastard son of mine?" He noticed that Dragon's vehicle was still in the parking lot but there was no sign of his ungrateful son.

"Dad went out to lunch with friend of his." Genzo had dropped Nami off by the house and he and Dragon had decided to go in Genzo's car. Dragon was a sucker for the environment.

"What about that wife of yours? Is she here?"

Luffy gulped and nodded.

Garp suddenly approached him and hooked Luffy's neck between his arm and used his free fist to grind against his skull causing Luffy to wail out in pain.

"Ow-ow-ow! That hurts!"

"That's for leaving me stranded on your wedding day, you bastard!"

"I'm sorry!" whined Luffy.

Garp released him and placed both heavy hands on his grandson's shoulders giving him a once over. Luffy rubbed his throbbing head in attempt to ease the pain. Garp noticed the ring on his finger.

"Look at you! My little grandson's all grown up and now, he has become a man!" 'Bahahaha.'

He went back over to the table, picked up his waiting snack and leaned against the fridge.

"I'm no expert when it comes to women. In my opinion, they are one of the most complicated creatures to walk this planet. But I can tell you this: Safeguard her trust. Once that's lost, things would never be the same. Remember that."

"Thanks for the advice, grandpa." It was so weird receiving advice from him. The guy who did most of his talking with his fists.

Garps eyes hardened at his grandchild. "I'm serious. A woman's trust is like a fragile vase. When broken, it is impossible for all the pieces to fit back the same. It's one of the most disgraceful thing a man could do in his life. Don't forget that."

Luffy stared back at his grandfather in silent understanding. Garp could only deduce that he had taken his words to heart. He believed that the old and the wise had one main duty; and that was to advise the young.

He went over to his jacket, draped it over his shoulder and grabbed his car keys, and walked to move pass Luffy. He had to get back to work. His break was long over and he knew that when he got back headquarters, a pissed off Sengoku would not be happy to see him. His work here was done.

"One more thing, Luffy... How have you been doing lately after the incident?"

There was a quick intake of breath and Luffy widened his eyes and lowered his head to stare at the kitchen floor.

"... I've been doing good, actually. Everyone's been very supportive; dad, my friends; and I have been doing my best as well."

Garp closed his eyes and placed a firm hand on his grandson's shoulders and left the room.

Luffy returned to his room with some coke as well as two medium sized bottles of water, a big bag of chips, crackers and cheese and a container of pre-cut fruit that Dadan, the maid had left in the fridge for him.

Nami had just completed clearing out a section of clothing from his closet and added the sealed box to the collection. She looked up and smiled when she saw him return and went over to join him back at their previous spot on the floor.

"I'm not too sure what you would've liked, so I brought a little bit of what I could find."

"This is fine. Thanks." She chose a bottle of water and opened the container of fruit and began eating it. She glanced over at Luffy, noticing that he wasn't eating anything himself. He just sat there staring at his lap. She tilted her head and looked up at him, trying to see his face. Something was definitely off about him.

"Luffy? Is something wrong?"

Luffy blinked back to reality and gazed back at her. He looked down to find that she had put a hand over his and whatever it was that he was thinking about was pushed to the back of his mind as he stared at the woman he vowed to spend the rest of his life with. He smiled genuinely at her causing her to wonder if she was mistaken about sensing that he seemed a bit down.

"I'm fine. Hey, can I hug you?"

"... Sure. But why?

Without a reason, Luffy embraced her enthusiastically and relished the feeling of being physically close to her. After a short while, he kissed her hair and let go seeking to open his bag of chips and to enjoy the rest of the snacks . He was really hungry. Fortunately for Nami, he didn't get an eye-full of her reddened cheeks.

"You sure that there isn't something wrong?"

"Yep. Everything's just right," he mumbled as he ate.

"Thanks for helping me pack, Nami. You've been a huge help." He really appreciated the effort plus he also got to spend good quality time with her.

There was a soft spread of her lips before she reached over to grab a handful of chips.

"I'm glad that I could help. What should we tackle next?"

His almost cleared out closet, with its empty shelves and vacant drawers indicated that his days at home were limited. However, what he felt was not sorrow, for what laid ahead was the beginning of an adventure he will not be backing out of.

To be continued...


	10. Chapter 10

"Let someone love you just the way you are – as flawed as you might be, as unattractive as you sometimes feel, and as unaccomplished as you think you are. To believe that you must hide all the parts of you that are broken, out of fear that someone else is incapable of loving what is less than perfect, is to believe that sunlight is incapable of entering a broken window and illuminating a dark room." -Marc Hack

 

In their new home, Luffy and Nami were organizing their things to be distributed in the different rooms. It was a homey apartment; much smaller than what both of them were used to but neither of them were complaining. Their flat consisted of 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a well designed kitchen, a study, living room and a small balcony overlooking the city and the ocean. It had everything that they would basically need. Bellemere did an outstanding job with the decorating.

It was located conveniently close to the city where commuting was easy and it was not too far from either of their original homes.

Their week had been booked with fun, random dates and it was time to settle down in their new home once and for all.

The time was around 10 am. Luffy was occupied setting up Nami's desk in her room with his prized strawhat dangling at his neck while Nami was in the living room sorting out the boxes. Suddenly, Luffy's phone rang on the coffee table where Nami was.

"Hey, Luffy! Your phone is ringing."

"Answer it for me please, "he answered back.

She checked the caller ID but could not read it since it was just a bunch of random letters and numbers that did not make sense. She figured that Luffy was too lazy to type the person's name correctly. She answered it.

"It's Makino-san," she whispered over to him.

"Hi Makino-san. It's Nami. How are you doing? How's Toshiro-kun?"

"Oh- hi, dear. That's what I'm calling about actually. You see, I have an important engagement to attend real soon and I was wondering if you two could help watch him for me while I'm away."

"Yes. We'd love to. Luffy says that it wouldn't be a problem. What time should we expect you?" Nami asked. She could barely mask the excitement in her voice.

Makino smiled, "Actually I'm at the apartment right now. Dadan-san gave me the address. All I need is the floor number."

 

Soon Makino along with her little bundle were invited in. Toshiro laid fast asleep in his baby carrier. She rested him down on the sofa and turned around to speak with Luffy.

"Thank you so much for helping me out today, Luffy. I know that this is a bad time and all so I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

He flashed her a grin, "It's fine. Right Nami?"

Nami was busy watching over the sleeping child took a while to answer before saying, "Huh-oh-yes. It's fine." She marveled at Toshiro, he had grown bigger compared to the last time she saw him.

Makino slipped a baby bag off her shoulder and handed it over to Nami instructing her on when his next feed would be and that further instructions were jotted down on a paper in the bag's side pocket. Other essentials like nappies, wipes, change of clothing, toys and blankets were also included. Additionally, she made them know that they should call her in the event that they may be uncertain about something or in case of an emergency.

She whispered to Toshiro, "Be a good boy to your Uncle Luffy and your auntie Nami," before giving him a kiss goodbye.

"I'll be back for him at 4pm. Good luck, guys and thanks again.

"Bye Makino," said Luffy.

She nodded and hurried out the door.

 

Luffy checked the cupboards and the fridge but was only able to find very few snacks.

"There's nothing much here," he said. "Where should we go to eat?"

"We really shouldn't be going out so often since it's expensive, Luffy. Let's opt for grocery shopping instead."

"Grocery shopping? What exactly do we have to buy?

Nami went to grab a pen and a notebook and sat at the dining table. Luffy joined her.

"It should be easy to shop for 3 meals a day," she said while uncovering the pen.

"Uh, Nami- I usually eat 5 meals a day."

Shocked, Nami asked, "Are you serious?"

"I am."

She calmed down. That really should not have surprised her... or should it?

"Okay. All we have to do is make a list. We really need to work on a budget." She began scribbling down on the sheet of paper.

"What's the first thing we need?"

"Meat. Lots of it."

Nami also wrote down other things like eggs, butter...

Luffy furrowed his eyebrows, "That's a lot of food, Nami. You really don't have to cook."

Nami still scribbling said," I won't; because you'll be helping me."

Luffy thought about the times that Dadan would sometimes invite him to go on shopping trips and would occasionally allow him to watch her cook but would never give him chance to help out. Sanji never ever allowed anywhere close to his workspace so the thought of cooking intrigued him.

Their ears picked up the sound of crying indicating that Toshiro had woken up. Nami collected him and while in her arms, she soothed him with a ready prepared bottle of milk.

"There, there," she said. "... We might have to wait till this little guy leaves before we could go to the supermarket, though."

"We can go now," Luffy suggested.

"You sure that that's a good idea?"

"Yeah. It will be fun!"

Makino had left the carrier so travelling with him should be easy and convenient. Nami agreed and they proceeded to complete the other general things that they would need on the list.

 

Monkey D. Luffy pushed his trolley along the aisles of The Grand Line Supermarket looking for Nami and Toshi because they "somehow" got separated. As he turned the corner his cart crashed into another trolley of a fellow shopper.

"I'm so sorry about that," the blue-haired woman glanced up.

"Luffy?"

Luffy grinned after recognizing her, "Ah- Vivi! Long time no see. How's your old man?"

"He's doing well. We're in town again because he had a business meeting to attend. Ever since you guys helped us out with Crocodile, dad's been having meetings after meetings to aid in the restoration of the country with great results. We don't know how we could possibly thank you guys enough."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, your dad did treat us to some awesome food." Just the memory of Middle Eastern food was enough to make him drool.

"What brings you here?" Vivi asked. It was quite unusual to see him by himself without his friends especially in a place like this.

"There you are."

Luffy turned to see Nami approaching.

"Luffy, where did you disappear to all of a sudden?" she asked.

Relieved that she had found him said, "They were some free samples of food by this stand in one of the aisles so I went to check it out."

A frustrated store employee named Galdino, was in the back hastingly preparing fresh new samples after a certain pitless bastard decided to eat them all on the spot.

"Let me know next time, okay? Don't just-" she stopped herself after becoming aware of the fact that Luffy was speaking to someone.

"Vivi?"

"Nami? I thought that was you. What a surprise!"

Nami walked over to her and grasped both her hands. She was happy to see such a familiar face.

"I haven't seen you since high school. This brings back so much good memories."

Vivi was an old high school friend of Nami's she was the daughter of a governor in a far away country who would often travel for work. Vivi was a student for only a couple of months at Nami's school and they were ultimately good friends.

Vivi gleamed at her dear companion.

"You look great. Dad's in town on a small business trip. Never thought that I'll run into you here. By the way, how do you know Luffy? Our dads happen to know each other and as kids we would be forced to attend random conventions that they had a habit of going to from time to time."

Nami glanced over her shoulder at Luffy. He was in the middle of poking is index finger around his nostrils looking off into space with a bored expression dawning on his face. She almost face palmed. She didn't even know how many times she had to tell him not to do that in public.

"We're married," she said.

Vivi was surprised,"For how long now?" she asked.

"Almost a week."

"Wow. Congratulations... It really is a small world."

An awkward silence fell between them as Vivi's eyes diverted downwards to the babbling toddler strapped on to Nami's front. Nami's eyes widened in realization.

"He's not ours. We're actually babysitting for a friend today."

Vivi laughed nervously and a bit embarrassed.

"Oh my. Sorry for getting the wrong idea." She went to the side to get a better look at the baby.

"He's such a little cutie. What's his name?"

The two women stood talking merrily for nearly an approximate 20 minutes just catching up just like they did during their time at school. After they said their goodbyes, Nami noted that Luffy had been quiet the whole time; a little too quiet for Luffy. She turned around and low and behold he had gone off on his own again. Above her eyebrow ticked and she smiled grimly with a ready powered-up fist.

"That idiot," she seethed.

 

The last of the purchased groceries were packed in the car, occupying everywhere that had space, filling the trunk and the empty seats. Nami had Toshiro in her lap giving him a drink of water after settling herself properly in the backseat of the convertible.

"It was nice seeing Vivi again. It's been so long..." she paused and gasped softly, "Luffy! Look-look; To-kun is doing that thing you were telling me about."

Luffy spun around in the driver's seat and sure enough, Toshiro was blowing an impressive spit bubble. He extended a finger and popped it, startling the child slightly before enveloping himself in fit of giggles.

"Shishishishi'

Nami smiled down at the toddler and began playing with his kicking feet. Oh how great it would be to see the world through the eyes of a child.

 

Upon arriving back home, Nami gave an upset Toshiro a much needed diaper change but even after that he would not stop the relentless crying. How quickly he changed from a bubbly little wonder to a little demon was beyond her. She tried rocking him and even tried distracting him with his toys but it was to no avail.

Luffy covered his ears and cringed. Toshi was loud for a baby of just 4 months. He was loud enough to wake the dead.

"Maybe he's hungry," he said.

"Maybe he is..."

She switched him over to Luffy and was able to mix a bottle by following the measurements left on the instruction sheet. She returned to find Luffy bouncing To-kun on his knees which had done the trick to calm him down.

"I forgot his bib. Give me a sec," she said leaving the bottle on the coffee table.

After retrieving the said item she saw that Luffy had taken the liberty of feeding him beforehand; positioning him quite expertly in his arms. Toshiro latched onto his bottle as if his life depended on it. Luffy tilted him back some more and Nami smiled, sat close beside him and fixed the bib under Toshiro's chin.

"You're very good at this."

"Really?"

"Mmhm."

Luffy's lips curved upwards. Makino made him feed Toshi at times when he would visit while she worked. Nami placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned into it. They both watched Toshiro finish his full bottle until it was bone dry. Nami took him and patted his back lightly to get him to burp.

"You're up next for diaper duty," she said.

Luffy made a disgusted face. No way! Do I have to?"

"Come on. It' not as hard as you think it is."

Just then, Toshiro burped out loud stopping the petty argument that was taking place. They blinked, looked at each other and started laughing. Toshiro joined them. He simply adored being around his grown-up friends and truthfully, he would not have minded staying with them for a little longer; if not forever.

In the afternoon, Makino arrived earlier than the appointed time and thanked them for their help. She could tell that her son was well taken care of and that he had had a great time. She was pleased to know that Luffy and Nami had both agreed on babysitting again in the future. She knew very well that she could rely on Luffy for almost anything. He had always been a kind determined child growing up. She really had found a friend in Nami and was happy that Luffy had found himself such a supportive life partner.

The newly weds used the rest of the afternoon to finish packing the groceries away and had commenced unpacking their baggage. All this took place while they spoke amongst themselves. They ordered pizza for dinner. Four boxes to be exact which Luffy ate the majority of and Nami questioned where he put it all.

It was 10pm and Nami came upon the topic of a childhood memory where she got gum stuck in her hair and her mom had joked about having to cut it all off. Luckily, she was able to safely remove it with ice. She recalled how devastated she was.

"What about you?" she asked,"What is your most terrible memory?"

Luffy who had his back turned to her in the middle of going through some of his things repeated slowly, "My most terrible memory?" He trailed off thinking then his face instantly took on a look of dread and his throat went dry.

He avoided the question by saying that he was sleepy and was going to bed in a strained cheery voice. Nami looked at him but he didn't look at her since he had not turned to face her.

"Okay... goodnight. I will be up a bit longer."

"Goodnight," Luffy chimed back. He stood up on his feet and the last thing she heard was the clicking of the door being closed.

Nami continued her task and smiled at the fond memories of the day as a whole. The smile however disappeared as she rested a bottle of dry shampoo at her side and scratched her hair. She had a nagging feeling that something might be wrong with Luffy in particular but dismissed it- however, not completely.

30 minutes had passed and she could be found distributing her cartography tools in the drawers of her drawing table in her room. The nagging feeling kept coming back. Ever since she last spoke with her husband, there was no mistake that the air had grown almost still. Completely disregarding her half packed work table, she left the room to check on him.

The door was unlocked when she entered and the light was still on. The sound of sniffles and silent sobs caught her ears and it was as if the floor fell in from beneath her feet.

 

To be continued.....


	11. Chapter 11

She could taste the salt on her lips as she gently kissed his dampened cheeks. She wanted him to wake up from whatever bad dream he was having; she wanted it to stop- whatever it was that was hurting him.

Luffy's eyes squeezed open and blinked away the remaining tears. Nami was quick to wipe them away before they fell. He saw the panic and the confusion in her eyes and he looked down in shame. He didn't want her to see him like this- he didn't want anybody to see him like this.

"Luffy..." Nami sniffled. "Luffy, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" She spoke so quickly that all her words were jumbled up.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked moving to get up.

"... No," said Luffy and she settled back down next to him and placed a hand behind his back and nuzzled his face to her chest.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Her voice soothing and soft. "I'm here for you, Luffy."

She waited, listening to his breathing beginning to steady. It did not take long for him to speak.

"... Ace," he muttered.

"Ace?"

"He was like a brother to me."

"What happened to him?" Nami asked.

Luffy locked eyes with hers and Nami feared for the worst. He released a shaky breath and held her close. Nami embraced him just as tight.

"He was killed 3 years ago. Someone shot him a-and although he was rushed to the hospital, there was nothing that the doctors could do to save him. All I could do was watch him die. I felt so useless- so hopeless... It hurt a lot, Nami."

Nami felt tears of her own surfacing in her eyes. She had never lost someone close in death before. However, she lost her blood parents to a war a long time ago and was adopted when she was just a baby. She didn't know them nor could she at least remember their faces. She didn't even know who this Ace character was but he was without a doubt someone Luffy thought highly of.

"We later found out that he was a prime target of the world government. It wasn't even for something that he had done. It was because he was his father's son. His dad was not even a criminal. The government had spread rumours about him but Roger was no where close to dangerous; he was a man of goodwill."

Just knowing that I would never see him again terrified me. I couldn't stop crying and I refused to eat for a while. Everyone tried their hardest to cheer me up... One of the things I've been doing is holding on to the good memories."

He rubbed his eyes and smiled at her.

"Like there was that time when we used to sneak out of the house and we'll disappear for days, fending for ourselves and getting into loads of trouble... But I think that that was mostly my fault though." 'Shishishishi'

Nami shook her head knowingly and a small smile presented itself on her lips. She ran a warm hand down his glistening face.

Luffy went on and on about Ace. Speaking happily about their little adventures of mischief . At times, the tears would resurface through his eyes but his smile would shine through. And the times when they would fall uncontrollably, Nami ensured that she helped wipe them away and held him close in her arms.

 

Luffy laid awake in bed staring at the ceiling. He did not remember but at some point they had fallen asleep. It felt like a load he was not aware of was lifted off his shoulders.

Movement came beside him and he turned on his side to see Nami preparing to wake up. The sun shining through the window illuminated her hair causing it to appear as if it were glowing. It was pretty cool and Luffy believed that maybe Sanji was right. Nami was like an angel. 

He gave her a delicate peck on the forehead right before she woke up. Hazel orbs refocused on him, noticing his puffy eyes, tangled hair and his trademark smile.

"Morning."

"Morning," she answered back. "Are you okay? How are you feeling?" The concern evident in her voice.

Present was the feeling of guilt. She did not feel like she helped him at all.

Luffy rose into a sitting position, hands in his lap.

"I'm alright now. Honestly, I am. I had learned to accept Ace's death ages ago but I never really got to express how I really felt about it. Everyone thought that it might have been best to not talk about it- maybe they thought that it would've brought back only bad memories... But thanks to you, I am feeling a lot better. Thank you for listening to me, worrying about me and especially for being there for me, Nami. It meant a lot to me."

Nami sat up, put her arms around him and drew him near.

"Next time when there's something, anything bothering you, make sure that you tell me about it, okay?"

"I will."

"Hey, Nami." She looked at him and sure enough, there was no trace of grief present in his bright eyes. "Let's go make breakfast. I'm starving." His mouth stretched into an anxious smile.

 

Nami tried the ribbon of her apron around her nightie and checked the cupboard for pots and pans as well as mixing bowls. She was as eager as Luffy to start breakfast. She loved cooking from time to time. Nami then moved to the pantry cupboard to select some necessary ingredients.

"Get the eggs, bacon and sausages from the fridge, please."

Luffy fetched the requested items and placed them on the counter beside her. He would not stay still on his feet as he chanted on about food . It came as no surprise. Anything food related was enough to send him through the roof.

She stood behind him to tie the loose strings of his apron. Bellemere had conveniently provided two.

"Have you ever cooked before, Luffy?" she asked while tying off the strings into a perfect bow.

"Hmmm... well Ace and I used to hunt for lizards and we would roast them over a fire we made when we were kids. They were tasty."

Nami paused and stared at him carefully. She did not know if she should be grossed out or to ignore the whole lizard ordeal; so she chose the latter.

"Well today, you'll learn. Who knows. Maybe you might just surprise yourself."

Nami sat down with sweat on her brow. Cooking with Luffy had turned out to be a challenge. On the table were several toasted sliced bread, scrambled eggs , bacon, sausages, a couple of pancakes, a cup of coffee for Nami and tea for Luffy.

It felt like it took forever; involving a series of failures. Luffy insisted that he wanted to crack the eggs but got a bunch of the shells into the mix and it took a while to take them out. Leaving him in charge of the pot and the ingredients was a mistake. Needless to say, a good amount of food was wasted that day. At the end of it all, breakfast simmered down to looking decent.

Luffy said, "Itadakimasu." Picked up his fork and began gobbling the food all at once. Nami did the same.

"It's good."

Nami ate a piece of scrambled egg. It was good! Just then she crunched down hard on what was most likely a shell. The way that Luffy was looking at her indicated that he heard it too.

"Was that...?"

She spat whatever was left of the shell into a paper napkin.

"Yup," she said but smiled. She was not upset. All that mattered was that he tried and didn't give up. "Don't worry about it. We did a great job together, huh? We'll get better."

"Yeah."

 

With tired eyes, Luffy clicked his light off and dived into bed. It had been a long day. He rested his hat on the side table and when his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep almost instantly. Three minutes had passed and Luffy with furrowed eyebrows awoke after hearing a quiet push of the door. Then came the silent tip-toeing of feet, there was a dent in the bed and his nose picked up her scent.

"Nami?"

She mentioned that she was going to modify some unfinished map work before heading off to bed. Nami was a night owl and reserved the wee hours of the night to practice her trade; plus she had her own room.

"Sorry... Did I wake you?"

"Not really." He ran a hand ran across tired eyes and he addressed her. "What are you doing here?"

"Your bed is more comfortable than mine so I'll be spending the night." She fluffed her pillow and made herself right at home. "Goodnight."

"What are you talking about? We have the same beds, Nami."

Nami tch'd.

"Okay- fine. I just wanted to make sure that you're okay; and nothing that you say is going to make me change my mind," she said with conviction.

The corners of Luffy's mouth turned upwards.

"Okay."

*pfffphhhttttt*

"..."

"..."

"... Did you just fart?" Nami asked.

"Maybe."

He received a strong kick sending him flying to the cold, hard floor.

"That's dirty!"

'Hahahaha!' Luffy laughed holding his stomach then a pillow hurled across his face shutting him up.

 

Nami breathed in fresh air as she pulled her sheet up under her chin in the sanctuary of her very own room. She hooded her eyes and side-eyed the other bed occupant. His fart-bomb was enough to send both of them running. It smelled that bad.

Luffy snicked silently to himself as he made himself comfortable.

"That's the last of it, right?"

"Yeah- no wait! I think there's another one coming!"

"Lufffyyyy!"

'Shishishishi' "Just kidding."

"Don't make jokes like that."

"Hey, Nami. Do girls fart?"

"They do, Luffy."

"How?" He had never heard a girl fart before in his life and his curiosity was getting the best of him.

Nami smiled and rolled her eyes at the childish question.

"It's a mystery, Luffy."

"Oh. So it's a mystery then."

She wanted to laugh but she was too tired for her own good. She yawned before she could question why it was that he had that much energy before bedtime. He truly was a ball of energy. 

Mild snores could suddenly be heard coming from his side of the bed. Nami leaned over to get a better look at his peaceful, relaxed face; arms splayed out at both his sides. Gone were the built up tears begging to fall which served as banks of saved up sorrow and relieved was she.

A light kiss was planted on his scarred cheek and she smiled at the subtle tug of his lips.

She switched the light off, causing needed darkness to flood the room. Lastly, she snuggled into his shoulder, lifted the sheets to cover them both and closed her eyes. Ready to invite the simple pleasure of yet another day.

 

To be continued.....


	12. Chapter 12

"A good relationship starts with good communication."- Unknown

 

One week later...

Zoro relaxed on the porch of his japanese styled home after a round of intensive training. He had a bath and was ready to enjoy some quality sake and barbecued chicken wings he ordered. The night air was clean with steady breeze and a tranquil star-littered sky.

He tilted the jug to his head and the fermented liquid gushed down the sides of his mouth, falling on his tanned, strong, scarred chest. He paused midway when he heard a car pulling at the front and the sound of someone kicking in his door that he was 100% sure he locked. He checked his watch and it was around 9:30 pm.

Zoro placed his hand on the handle of his katana. It was common for aspiring swordsmen to shamelessly come to his house to challenge him but never at this time of night. Whoever this intruder was, they chose the wrong house to break into. And Zoro did not plan on making them get away.

As the footsteps came closer, Zoro swiftly got to his feet and swung his sword at the incoming figure with the intention to kill or if they were lucky, to inflict damage.

The dark figure appeared, easily dodged the expert swipe and punched him squarely in the face, sending him flying forcibly to the floor. Zoro's eyes popped open as he cried out and his hand flew to his throbbing cheek. He looked up to see Luffy coming into the light.

"Luffy? What the hell, man?!"

"Sorry, Zoro. Thought you were somebody else."

"..."

Zoro stood up and leaned on one of the columns and he saw Luffy sit down close to where his previous spot was with a blank look on his face, hands anchoring him backwards, swinging his feet. Luffy noticed the bowl of chicken and began stuffing his face.

Zoro didn't expect to see him a day early. He would randomly visit much to Zoro's dismay just to annoy him and to drag him into silly games with the guys. But it was strange seeing him this late and so calm and quiet.

"Luffy." The captain looked at him with an owlish expression. "What are you doing here?"

Luffy blinked rapidly and comical tears settled in his eyes. Zoro's brow stiffened and his face hardened, waiting for his captain to speak. Luffy swallowed and his shoulders began to shake before he threw himself at the swordsman, hugging one of his legs.

"Oi. What's wrong?" asked Zoro.

"Zorooo," Luffy whined. "Nami hates me!" Comical tears streamed down his face and he wiped snot on his friend's trousers.

Zoro made a face of disgust. "Oi, oi!" he protested and kicked Luffy off him.

He breathed off. 'So this was the witch's doing, huh?' He sat down next to his best friend who was busy wiping his face with the back of his hand.

"What do you mean she hates you?" he asked as Luffy resumed eating his chicken wings that he paid good money for.

"I don't know really. She seemed so quiet and distant lately and no matter how many times I ask her if something's wrong, she would tell me that she's fine. I can sense that she's not. She hates me, Zoro."

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything... Though we've been arguing a lot about me leaving the toilet seat up, leaving the bathroom floor wet after showering and about my midnight snacking. There was a time we bought separate delicious cakes at a bakery. I got two banana cakes and she got an orange-tangerine one. She ate only half of it and went to take a nap and I thought that she she didn't want anymore so I ate the rest of it. Nami was really upset when she found out and she went behind my back and ate the last cake I had left without sharing and I called her a jerk."

Luffy did not get away with that without a scratch. Nami could be scary at times.

Zoro's eyebrows ticked and he massaged his temples.

"When we were sorting out finances, Nami discovered that I had a savings for manga merch that I had long forgotten about and she was not pleased about that either.

Even after all that, we were able to come to an understanding and were somewhat able to resolve conflict but something still feels wrong. She's not like herself anymore and it's confusing. I'm convinced that she hates me."

Zoro was not mad. It takes a whole village to put up with someone like Luffy. He was sure that whatever the witch's problem was, was just a personal matter. He exhaled and put a hand on the 'Wado Ichimonji' and rested it across his lap.

"I bet you my prized katana that the wit-" he cleared his throat. "That Nami does not hate you."

Luffy looked seriously at him. He knew how significant Zoro's sword was to him. It was the symbol of his dream.

"How do you know?"

"Well first of all, you know that wife of yours more than I do . You know deep down inside that Nami honestly doesn't hate you. Another thing is that she said that you're important to her and I've taken her word for it."

Luffy stopped breathing and a red tinge formed on his cheeks.

"What should I do?"

"The hell I know. Solve your own damn problems. You're the man of your house. What you should do is go home and demand what's been bothering her. That's the only way you will get answers.

"But-"

"There are no buts, Luffy. You're worried about her, right?"

Luffy nodded.

"Then that's what you'll have to do."

 

Fire spread under the kettle of water Nami had on the stove and she gauged it to its lowest setting. She had her phone tucked between her shoulder and ear as she searched the top cupboard for some tea bags and took out two mugs, placing a bag in each.

"Hi mom." She leaned against the kitchen counter with a nostalgic smile. "Hope that it's not a bad time to call. It's kinda late."

"He's fine. He not too long stepped out to visit one of his friends. I'll tell him that you said hi."

Nami laid on the couch with her feet kicked up on one of the armrests.

"I don't know, mom. Sometimes it feels like I'm married to a child. He's the most stubborn person I have ever met and we keep arguing about stupid things." She puffed out a cheek and dug a finger in her nose.

"Oh really? I think that you two are very much alike."

Nami looked down and quickly pulled her finger out.

"I don't know what you're talking about. We are not alike at all. We are completely different people."

"...Whatever you say." Nami heard Bellemere blowing puffs of smoke.

"It's just that- just that..."

"That what? Maybe you should go find some random guy on the street, fall into his lap and I am pretty sure that he'll do whatever you want him to do. Even more."

Nami could not believe what she was hearing and sat up straight.

"What the hell, mom?! I will never do that to Luffy! Why would you even say something like that?"

"That's it right there. You're overreacting all for something as simple as that. I raised you better than that. Arguing is normal in marriage. It's impossible to agree on every little thing. One thing I told you that you must have forgotten was that communication is key. It's basically the most important aspect of any relationship."

"Luffy and I talk about everything."

"Everything?

Nami hesitated. "Maybe not every, every thing..."

"Congratulations. You've found your problem. Knowing you, you're probably giving that man of yours loads of silent treatment. You may think that you're doing yourself a favour but what you're doing is pushing him away. Nothing makes a man feel worse than not being wanted."

Nami frowned and stared hard at her toes.

"No one ever said or proved that marriage was easy. It's a team's effort. Do you understand, sweetheart?"

"Yes. I do."

"Now. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to talk to him."

Bellemere smiled.

"That's my girl."

 

Luffy turned the lock and came into the flat, locking the door behind him. The lights were still on so maybe Nami was still awake. He kicked off his sandals and hung his coat on the rack. He turned in the direction of the couch and jumped. There she was sitting there leering at him with a not-so happy look on her face.

He straightened himself and said, "Nami. Something's been bothering you and I want- I need you to tell me what's wrong. I want to help you."

She got up and sauntered over to where he stood and something about her caused him to take a step backwards. His back came in contact with the wall but his spirit was not broken.

"Are you still angry? Angry that I ate your mikan cake that you loved so much? I'm very, very sorry about that."

Nami's eyes twitched. He must have had a death wish bringing that up again. It was a limited flavour plus she already got her revenge.

"And about that time I-"

"No. I'm not mad about that anymore."

"Really?" He grinned. "I'm glad." But his smile turned upside down. "What's wrong then?"

Nami stood a bit too close to him and he watched her arms circle around his shoulders.

"Luffy. What am I to you?"

He rose a questioning eyebrow. Things just got even more confusing.

"You're Nami."

"Wrong Luffy. We are much more than just friends. I am your wife."

"And I'm your husband. "

"That's right."

There she went talking about things that he already knew.

Nami pouted. "When exactly do you plan on kissing me?"

Luffy seized up and hung his gaze to the side pretending like he did not understand what she said. But Nami saw right through him.

"Oi Luffy." Her voice stern as she pinched his cheek. He winced and his attention was brought back to her. Luffy gulped.

"Come on. Don't tell me that you've never thought about it." She had caught him staring at her lips too many times to count and even though she had given him so many openings, still nothing.

"...Cooties..." he murmured.

"What?" She heard him alright. She half-smiled and shook her head.

Nami stood on her toes, closed her eyes and without giving him a moment to think, attacked his lips by pressing her face completely on his for a full-on smooch cradling the back of his neck with her hand. Luffy froze on the spot. Of course he did. She just stole an "unwanted" kiss. She tilted her head, moving her lips downwards, kissing his bottom lip, then she kissed the top and finished it off with another full smooch.

Her hands slid down his shoulders and took a hold of the fabric of his shirt; Her forehead pressing on his chest, releasing pants of shaky breaths. She was embarrassed at the moment and needed a few minutes to build back composure. Even though it felt like kissing a dead fish, it was a whole lot better. Don't believe her? Ask her racing heart.

She stopped breathing when she felt his hand cupping her face and his fingers dug slightly in her hair. She looked up to be met by her husband's lips, shyly pressing at the corner of her mouth before molding them on hers and she kissed him back. Luffy slowly kissed both her lips one at a time; kissing both of them with care. Nami could not wipe the intoxicated grin off her occupied lips as she pressed firmly against his.

Luffy broke from the lip-lock and embraced her, resting his chin on her head.

"Woah..." he said out loud, wondering what the heck just happened. Nami on the other hand was all red-faced and dizzy, listening to the stampede of his heart. She still had that smile she wore earlier. She was just too happy right now. She mindlessly licked her lips and tasted barbecued chicken wings or some sort. 'Maybe Luffy had a snack on his way back home.'

She then got this crazy idea. They may be both breathless at the moment but decided that one more kiss wouldn't hurt. Just one more. But before she could initiate, a loud whistle rang out, startling her out of their moment and she slammed her forehead down on his chest, clenching her teeth. The mood was officially killed.

Luffy's head turned to the direction of the kitchen and Nami released herself and hurried to take the forgotten kettle off the fire. When the whistling died down, she peeked out from the kitchen and asked, "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes please," said Luffy.

He slumped against the wall on weak knees and decided to to take a seat on the couch in attempt to buy time to cool his burning face. Nami soon came, handed him a cup and sat down at the opposite end, her legs folded in front of her, facing him. She blew on her tea and sipped it. Luffy did the same.

"Was that your first kiss?" she asked.

"Yeah. Yours?"

"Yeah. It was."

"It was nice," Luffy said and took another sip of his tea. Nami smiled at that. However, "nice" was an understatement. Her smile faded as she stared at the rippling contents of her cup come to a settle.

"Luffy?"

"Hm?"

"Remember when I told you that I wanted us to take things slow?" Not that it was bothering her, She did not mind waiting a bit longer but if it was something bothering him, they could at least, come to some kind of agreement.

"Yeah. What did you mean by that anyway? I've been meaning to ask you."

Nami sweat dropped. 'Seriously?'

"You have no idea what I meant?

"No. No clue."

"...I was talking about That."

"That?"

"That."

Luffy's eyebrows rose in realisation. "Oh... I've never been interested in sex before. One day. Just not right now. That's not why I married you."

Nami blinked twice. Luffy was definitely asexual. Not that it surprised her. Everything just started to make sense.

"You've never had sex before?" she asked.

"No. Have you?"

"Nope."

"Why?"

Nami tucked her bangs behind her ear. "It's just that I've been so focused on my career and my dream and I've never dedicated any time for boys. I told myself that I'll leave that for when I'm married.

Do you ever think about the future, Luffy? Our future?"

"I don't know what the future holds. I just work towards goals. However, when it comes to our future, that's something that we have to decide together, right?"

Nami smiled and nodded. What he said was so true. "Right."

"Do you want to have children?" she asked.

"Yes. Of course. I love kids!" Luffy grinned.

"I bet you want a son as our first child." Wasn't it every guys dream to have a son as his firstborn?

"No. Actually I want it to be a girl."

"How come?"

"I thought that if I ever have a daughter, I would like her to be like you."

Nami blushed pleasantly at that and sipped away at her mug.

"I think that you'll be a great father, Luffy."

Luffy grinned with reddened cheeks at her praise.

"You think so? Man, hearing you say that makes me very happy. You'll be an awesome mom yourself."

Nami grinned back, giggling appreciatively at the compliment. She started thinking about the prospect of them meeting their first child, and impending chapter to come in their relationship.

But that is another story.

She felt Luffy take her free hand in his and when she looked at him, she rested down her tea and she placed her next on his open palm. His long fingers closed gently around hers. Then she sought and held his gaze.

"You know, when dad told me about getting involved in an arranged marriage, I thought that it was impossible and crazy that two complete strangers can meet and agree to spend the rest of their lives together right off the bat. Thought that marriage was for two people who know each other well and love each other. I had all these misconceptions till the day I met you and it felt like anything was possible.

I knew that it was not going to be easy but when you all of a sudden started to close down and became distant, I felt like I screwed up big time and I didn't know what to do... You even lost your smile."

Nami lowered her head and could literally feel an aching of her heart. How could she have been so stupid?

"No Luffy. That was not my intention. I'm truly sorry that I made you feel that way. You did nothing wrong. You are a good man and a good husband to me. Don't change."

Luffy smiled sincerely at his wife and squeezed her hand a little.

"I won't change. We will change together through this adventure they call marriage. I've decided that I want to put in the effort and be there for you every single day. I will help out more with the chores. I will protect you and support you. That's my promise to you."

Then came that beautiful smile he vowed to protect, fueling his determination. And Luffy thought there was nothing else that would complete his bad day other than that perfect smile.

Nami was trying to figure out what lucky star she had been born under to have met and married such a sweet, driven man. She began to wonder if she deserved him but quickly discarded the thought.

Luffy chuckled to himself and Nami saw the tiredness in his eyes. He yawned and appeared extremely drowsy.

"You go get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow."

Luffy nodded and was preparing himself to get up but stopped himself and leaned in close to her face.

Nami stopped him with a finger over his lips and smirked.

"Oh, that's strange. I thought that you didn't want my cooties," she mused.

Luffy frowned and before he could whine and complain, her lips were over his, kissing him with emotion.

She pulled away slowly to find him with this derp look on his face. Her shoulders shook as she stifled her bubbling laughter.

"Good night, Luffy. Sleep well."

"Goodnight~."

Nami now left all alone contemplating whether she was in the mood for another cup of tea. She licked her lips and was then in the mood for some barbecued chicken wings instead.

To be continued...


	13. Chapter 13

"The best feeling in the world is being with someone who wants you as much as you want them." - Unknown

 

Luffy stepped out of his room with damp hair brushed out of his eyes; dressed in a grey long sleeved dress shirt and long tailored pants, fumbling with a black tie.

Dragon who was in charge of tying it had tried teaching him how to fix it before the big move but gave up after losing his patience.

"Morning handsome."

He looked up and saw Nami smiling at him, seated in an armchair in the living room. A newspaper was in her lap and he noticed her ink stained hands. There was a half full mug of coffee on the coffee table along with a plate of roasted almonds.

His cheeks tingled with warmth and he returned the smile.

"Morning," he said and was back to the tie feud with a concentrated purse of his lips.

Before he knew it, Nami appeared before him and batted his hands away. She seized the fabric with graceful hands and knotted it together for him. Bellemere taught Nami how to tie her father's at the tender age of 11. She left her in charge of doing it ever since in her stead, successfully letting herself off the hook.

"Thanks Nami."

Luffy caught a glint in her eyes and yelped when she grabbed a hold of his tie and tugged him down, surprising him with a peck on his lips, giving him goosebumps.

"You're welcome."

She let her hand slide down his arm and held his, giving him a small squeeze.

"Do you have everything?"

"Yeah."

"See you when you get back. Have a nice day, Captain." Her smile was bittersweet. They did not bother with breakfast since Luffy said that Sanji usually took care of that. Nami had to admit that she was sorry to see him go but this day was bound to come sooner or later. She turned around to return to her paper but Luffy held her back.

"Come to work with me today, Nami." he said.

"Can I?"

"Sure! Why not? The guys will be happy to see you. Come on."

He knew very well that the guys had really liked her and he wanted her to see what his work was all about. To be honest, Nami had entertained the thought so there was no way she was going to turn down the offer. She spun on her heel and headed to her room to find something to wear.

 

Luffy and Nami arrived at the Monkey D. Corporation.; a towering, smart building. It was before business hours. They drove into the garage located inside the building and piled into an elevator.

As instructed by Franky, Luffy punched in a code that would take them to the floor that he and the crew dubbed the 'Thousand Sunny.' They had an older spot but due to needed changes, Franky was able to build and design this one that had more space and better equipment the crew could work in more comfortably as the team got bigger.

The elevator door closed and Luffy stepped back and held Nami's hand. She had her hair pinned up into a top knot bun and she wore a grey, striped ankle sleeveless jacket suit with a black camisole and black loafers. The suit was something she had used when she had to accompany her parents on the occasional business trips.

"How does it feel to be back?" she asked.

"It feels great."

When the doors opened, they could smell food as well as hear the rustling and rattling of dishes coming from the dining area.

"Hey guys! I'm here!" Luffy called out.

 

"Shit. He's here." Usopp said between stuffed cheeks. Everyone knew that once Luffy was there, there would not be a trace of food left so they considered themselves lucky when it was discovered that he was strangely late for breakfast.

Chopper started chugging down his share but paused and held his neck coughing for a morsel of food had ended up caught in his throat. Robin handed him her untouched glass of water which he took gratefully.

Sanji had handed Robin her requested black coffee and he sat down on the couch puffing heart shaped smoke because nothing beats being in the presence of a beautiful woman. Next to him sat Franky downing his third bottle of cola while Zoro savoured his booze.

Seated next to Robin was Brook. He sipped his tea then put the teacup on the saucer and turned to Robin who was reading an old history book she dug up in some library. Brook cleared his throat and straightened his bowtie. He had something important to ask the archaeologist and decided to try his luck for the fifth time that morning.

"Dearest, Robin-san, may I-"

"No."

"So harsh!" he exclaimed.

The slapping of the captain's sandaled feet came to a halt upon entering the eating area.

"Hey guys; Long time no see- Hah?!" His jaw dropped to the floor. "I can't believe you guys started eating without me!"

Everyone looked up after realising that there was an extra presence in the room but their joyous greetings were all drowned by Sanji's: "Nami-swaan!"

Franky welcomed her in and volunteered to give her a tour but the cook insisted that that could wait and threw on his apron and headed to the kitchen. Nami-san must be probably starving and no lady should go hungry under his watch. He would probably make some more food for the idiot captain as well.

Brook was kind enough to give up his seat for Nami. He sat on the couch with his tea sporting a steaming lump on his head for absentmindedly trying his luck with the newly arrived target.

Robin smiled triumphantly and she stretched her hand back to where a pissed off swordsman slapped $20 in her hand then she returned to listening to Franky rant to Nami about the features of the office. She had bet that Luffy would have made Nami tag along with him to work but Zoro was against the idea but she was right. Nevertheless, it pleased the swordsman to see that things had worked out well for Luffy.

 

Luffy stood facing his crew in the conference room; his head adorned with his prized strawhat . Nami could sense the authority in the air.

"Okay guys; we are back! And it's great to see you all again after the break. We have accomplished a lot together as a team and I know that we can achieve much more. I am honored to call each and every one of you my comrades."

A series of smirks, smiles and even shedding of tears spread across the crew's faces. Nami's stomach fluttered.

"Now... We have a situation on our hands. It has been handed down to our group since we have had some similar dealings with it n the past. Doffy's on the move again and we all know what that bastard's capable of."

Usopp and Chopper had chills run up their spines.

"Robin."

"Hai."

"Give us a run through to let us know what we're dealing with."

Robin took the stage and Luffy sat back down next to Nami.

"You were cool up there, Luffy." Nami said in a hushed voice.

Luffy smiled and scratched his scar sheepishly. She was being awfully nice today and he was loving every second of it.

Robin pulled up her presentation.

"The one we are up against is: Donquiote Donflamingo. Today we are dealing with this country..." A digital map appeared on the screen behind her and she gave- well what she called in her standards- a brief history of the country.

As the others listened, Luffy covered his eyes with his hat and eased back in his chair with a snot bubble. Nami looked at him with a deadpanned expression. He had fallen asleep. She moved to wake him up but Zoro advised her not to. That happened all the time. The captain wasn't one to sweat the small stuff.

"There has been cases of missing people over the past 7 months. Searches have been made by the local police but there has been no witnesses and very little to no evidence." Robin continued. "It is strange. Headquarters sent out scouts recently and they sighted Donflamingo's henchmen in these areas and we have narrowed down our search area.

She pointed to two circled areas on the map. "5 henchmen were found in the urban area. We are keeping close watch on each but this other henchman was spotted close to the mountains located some 8km away but we got news that we lost sight of him; so now our main focus is on these spotted in the city."

Robin elaborated more on the case while Nami studied the mountain area the guy went missing. She was beside herself then suddenly pushed back her chair and had gone to stand next to Robin at the podium.

"Nami?" said Robin.

"I have a theory; more like a candidate idea of where their hideout may be."

She had everyone's attention even Luffy had awakened by the sound of her voice.

"See the area around the mountain range located on the map here? It is heavily forested and very much undeveloped. Since these places are difficult to get to, it doesn't have many visitors making it the perfect hiding place, so to speak.

The landscape of the range is consisted partially of limestone and like most landscapes way above sea level, there are rivers. However, these rivers tend to disappear."

"Disappear?" Usopp asked. That creeped him out.

"Yes. Disappear. But the question is: Where? Limestone is easily corrosive when it comes in contact with water and when these rivers run through the karst areas of land they erode the limestone, creating underground caves.

It makes sense to focus on the places where the most guys showed up but letting one guy get away may be too much of a risk in my opinion. That is why I think the mountains should be reconsidered. Who knows? I could be wrong."

"Ooooh." Everyone clapped after Nami threw in her two cents. It made complete sense.

"This will really help, Nami." Robin said.

Luffy abandoned his seat, held Nami's face and gave her two closed mouthed kisses on her unguarded lips.

"Isn't Nami amazing?" he beamed.

"Luffy!" Nami cried and hid her face behind her hands. She could feel everyone's stares. That was so embarrassing!

Sanji's cigarette fell out of his mouth for he was convinced that the shitty captain was showing off. Zoro scowled thinking that they should go get a room. He did not need to see that. Usopp and Chopper bit their mouths trying to hold back laughter but they failed.

"Nice lipstick, Luffy!" said Usopp.

"Huh? What are you guys talking about?"

Robin, Franky and Brook joined in the jamboree. Nami slowly slid her hands from her eyes and caught sight of his red-stained lips when he turned questionably at her.

Her eyes widened and she turned into a fit of stifled giggles.

"You too, Nami? You guys are so mean!"

Robin stood up and clapped her hands in hopes to retain order.

"Good work today, everyone. Time for your break."

Some of the crew headed to the kitchen to grab lunch while some stayed back to discuss the events of the day. It felt great to be back together again.

The historian sat down to type up the report while stealing eyefuls of the captain and his significant other. Her mouth turned upwards as Nami rose a mirror for him to see what all the drama was about and when he did, he shamelessly laughed along with his wife. They were so cute.

 

Nami stared at the colossal aquarium in awe; eyes following the graceful swim of various schools of fish. She just had to wander away from the group to see what all the rave was about it. It was truly a sight to behold. Something moved in the corner close to a coral and out swam a humongous squid. She jumped and bumped into someone's chest. She glanced up to see who it was.

"Luffy?"

'Shishishi' "Hey."

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Just got here, actually. You went missing so I decided to go look for you."

With her back still against his chest he hugged her around the waist, drawing her closer.

"W-What is it?" Nami stuttered. She could not resist relaxing against him.

"The aquarium Franky built is awesome, huh?"

"Yeah. It's beautiful. I didn't imagine it to be so huge and this many fish... What's with the squid?"

"It's food."

Nami sweatdropped. 'Ofcourse.'

"Think Zoro caught that one."

"Isn't it a problem for it to be in there with the fish?"

"It's not as bad as that big shark Usopp and I caught. That bastard nearly ate all the fish. It tasted good though."

Nami chuckled. "You guys are crazy."

"Yup." 'Hahahaha'

When his laughter died down, he sighed and rested his head on her warm shoulder.

"Something wrong?" Nami asked.

"No. It's just that I really want us to go home and cuddle up on the couch right now. But there's still more work to do. We have to go discuss what we talked about today with dad... Maybe we can sneak off."

"You can do that?" Nami turned around in his arms with rose tinted cheeks. She definitely did not mind doing just that. It was a great idea. In fact, it was a fantastic idea but she did not want him to get in trouble. Little did she know that Luffy was famous for boycotting work on few occasions.

"We can try."

"Not so fast, captain," said Robin as she pulled Nami out of his grasp. She had a feeling this might happen and went searching for them right away after they went missing.

"Us ladies will be going shopping. Dragon-san told me to make sure that you come see him today so no running off."

Luffy frowned. "Not fair, Robin! Don't you have to come too?"

"No. I already sent in the report and I'm not needed at headquarters so I'm free for the rest of the day. I'll be borrowing Nami. I am sure that the both of you have spent more than enough time together already. Time apart is good too. Let's go, Nami."

"Sorry Nami." Luffy sulked but straightened up. He understood the importance of his job and that things sadly could not be helped.

Before Nami left with Robin, Nami approached him.

"Don't be. Do your best today, okay? See you when I get back." It was too bad that their plans were foiled but Robin has a point and it seemed like things were going to get busy soon.

She leaned into Luffy and kissed him on the cheek only to knit her brows in frustration when she realised that her lipstick had left a pesky red mark. She lifted her hand to wipe it off but Luffy said:

"Did it leave a mark again like last time?"

"Yeah. Hold still so I can wipe it off. "

Robin looked on in amusement.

"No. I think that I want to keep this one."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"Because- because it's embarrassing. The guy's will laugh at you again. Now hold still."

"I don't care."

Nami glared hard at him. There was no way she was going to have him walk around like that. She had to think of something fast to change his mind. An idea came to her and she smirked.

"If you want to parade around like that, it's fine. However, I'll just have to tell Sanji-kun to stop cooking for you for a week.

Luffy's eyes widened like saucers. "You won't?" Sanji would definitely not say no to that. He was a hopeless ladies man for crying out loud.

"Oh. I will."

 

Robin and Nami arrived at the 'Red Line Mall.' It was well known for its top brand stores and Nami was ecstatic to get some shopping done after Robin informed her that the entire mall was having a sale.

During their journey through the commercial building, Robin spotted a history exhibit and like a moth to a flame, her curiosity got the best of her and left Nami to have an early look in the stores without her for a while promising that she would return shortly.

Nami was about to enter one of her favourite stores but a sign caught her eyes before she could. She read it carefully and began battling thoughts in her head. She then nodded to herself and went on over. She had questions and all she needed were some answers and what better way was there to get these answers than from a professional?

 

Madame Sharley, a marriage counselor stared at her clock noting that it would be another hour till she could go home. She smoked her pipe, sifting through records of clients who if it was not for her help, would have already murdered each other already.

She was beginning to dislike her job and thought that returning to her old fortune telling job even though it came with its complications, did not sound like a bad idea.

Her attention turned to the door and in walked an orange haired girl who- she glanced down at her left hand- was noticeably tied in marriage. The problem was that she was alone and though Sharley did not specialize in one-on-one therapy, she returned the young lady's greeting and invited her to sit down. Sharley wanted to help her. Unlike her other clients who were broken and lost, she came across as confident yet uncertain. She leaned back in her chair and released smoke from her pipe.

"Do you mind if I smoke?"

"No. It's fine."

The madame smiled. She did not plan on stopping either way. For Nami, the smoke created a familiar atmosphere.

"Can you tell me about yourself?"

"About myself?"

"Tell me about your childhood, about school, about your relationship with your parents."

Nami comprehended and told her what she requested in a clear and concise manner.

Sharly had stopped her when she had enough info for her assessment. You had to know the client first by listening to their upbringing since that helped shape the person they were today.

"You are quite young and newly married. What kind of marriage did you have?"

"Arranged."

"What are the list of problems you are having in your marriage?"

Nami rose an eyebrow at the question but understood what she was getting at. She guessed that it was common for people to seek counselling mainly for having trouble with their marriage. She should have made the reason for her visit known at first.

"No. I'm just here for some advice."

"Go on."

"I entered this marriage with low expectations. My husband is a wonderful man. We share the same values. We can be our true selves around each other and we are compatible to some extent. Being in a relationship is new to both of us. He is endeavouring and I just want to know how I could do more for him as his wife. I do not want to take him for granted."

Sharley gazed back at Nami with deep understanding. These kind of people made her love her job. Those who were willing to go to the moon and back for their relationship. She must have already given that husband of hers enough reason to have a want to put in the effort but she knew that time changes people and she was a counsellor.

"You want to do more. Well do just that. Learn more about each other; communicate more; care for each other more. Marriage is not a destination. It is a journey. Cherish each day. Do things daily that shows your partner that you still got each other's backs.

Picture your marriage as a plant. Without the factors that help it to grow, it will not go anywhere. In fact, it may even die. However, do not overwhelm each other. Practice moderation and balance. That is how you will be successful.

Also, don't lose yourself in your relationship. Before there was the two of you, you had yourself. Your own dreams, goals and hobbies. Maintain your individuality. Besides, that's the person your husband married: You."

Nami listened like a diligent student in her favourite class. Madame Sharley had helped her massively. She stuck around long enough to exchanging a few words here and there, even sharing a few laughs. She was willing to stay a bit longer especially after she learned that the session was free of charge.

"One more question," the counsellor said," You don't already happen to be-"

Nami put her fingers on her lips which pulled back into a big smile and Sharley got the message.

"Whatever you do, don't stop."

 

The clothes slid across their racks as Nami sorted through an array of menswear. She had already picked out a couple of clothes for herself that she was satisfied with but the prices were horrendous and 40% off did not cut it. Luffy arranged a joint account but today, she wanted to use her own. Regardless, she had a trick up her sleeve.

She agreed that they had a nice selection for guys and they were of good quality plus she was delighted to find that they had Luffy's size. His wardrobe was a bit on the plain side and she had a feeling that he would appreciate the ones she picked out.

Robin had returned 20 mins ago and even though Nami knew her stuff, Robin helped her choose some neat clothes. She was a stylish woman. She left her somewhere looking at hats. She sweatdropped when she remembered Robin trying to convince her to pick up some thongs; saying that they were useful then gave her a mischievous smile and winked at her. She had to decline. Those things looked uncomfortable and if Luffy caught her wearing one, she had a hunch that he would point fingers at her and laugh his butt off.

Nami wheeled the 2 baskets up to the check out and could see the elated eyes of the cashier but not for long. She piled the clothing on the countertop into large hills.

"Give me all these for 75% off," she said.

"But ma'am we-" Nami narrowed her eyes at the man who began to sweat profusely.

"80% off."

The cashier could only stare back at the intimidating lady. He was wary of these types of customers. The last time he called his manager to deal with a similar situation, the store almost got sued for all it was worth. It reached the point where they would just go along with it. The prices on the clothing were overpriced to begin with compared to what they cost in retail. He had to throw in his towel for this one.

"Deal."

To be cont'd ........


	14. Chapter 14

"When forced to choose between your career and your spouse, your friends and your spouse, or even your family and your spouse, you must always choose to put your spouse ahead of the rest. If your first loyalty isn't to your spouse, then you don't really understand the meaning of marriage." -Dave Willis

 

Luffy wanted to invite Nami to work again the following day mainly because a fishing trip had been scheduled for right after the morning session. Though it sounded like a lot of fun, Nami declined but promised that she would make it to the next one; sealing the deal with a kiss before sending him on his way. The pressure of his lips still lingered on hers.

She wanted the day for herself. A little 'me' time.

It was a fantastic day. The sun shining outside and she loved it best when the sun was out. Leaving the water to catch in the tub she smoothed out the creases of Luffy's unmade bed and hummed to herself.

She returned to her room to prepare for her bath. A lavender scented bath bomb was tossed in the water and she swished her hand around to spread the purple colour and encourage effervescence.

She then sunk into the bath with a contented sigh with her hair tied up, leaning on the edge of the tub. It was a nice way to start the day.

She planned on maybe starting a good book, binge watch some movies, surf the web, heck, she even felt like she could do some cleaning. The flat was not untidy but there was ought to be some chore to be done somehow, somewhere. Or maybe go for a jog in the park she went to for evening walks with Luffy. She had not exercised in a while and wanted to get back to her old routine- maybe sign up for a gym or some class.

Ever since she got married to Luffy, she was exposed to a lot more food than usual every meal and she tended to eat more. She was turning into her husband and Nami hung her head in defeat.

She blew on a clump of accumulated bubbles and watched them sail to the other end of the little sea in her tub. Where she was getting all the energy and motivation from, she had no clue. But firmly believed that a good mood should be taken advantaged of.

She left her room dabbing a towel at the ends of her hair and hunched down at the open fridge trying to figure out what she should make for breakfast. She did not have much of an appetite so ultimately decided on strawberries and a banana and a tall glass of water.

She sat down and prodded her feet up on a footstool, found a decent movie and ate her fruit. 15 minutes into the film, she sank in her seat and frowned feeling groggy. It was not the movie but rather it was like something took her good mood, crumpled it up and threw it out the window. She clicked off the television and stared at the blank screen. Nami was so upset for no apparent reason and fell back on the couch, biting her thumb nail. Then her eye twitched when she suddenly had an urge to pee- just when she was getting comfortable.

Nami practically kicked open the bathroom door and slammed it shut. She pulled down her panties (Yohohoho) and face palmed. That explained everything; 3 spots of blood stained the fabric and she gritted her teeth when a wave of cramps rocked her abdomen.

She finished up and pulled her draw to retrieve a bag of sanitary napkins and dumped it on her bed. Only one fell out- she didn't remember to restock. Nevertheless, it was better than nothing. She used it, took some advil and crashed into bed. She was going to need more pads. There was a corner store about an hour way. Her scooter was downstairs in the garage but she could not bring herself to make the trip.

Luffy flashed in Nami's mind. Surely he could make a short detour before the fishing trip, she thought.

She made way into the living room and used the house phone to call him. She knew the number by heart.

He picked up on the second ring and she could hear Sanji and Zoro arguing in the background. If she was there, she would have pounded those two idiots to knock it off. Luffy had to find another room to hear properly.

"Luffy? Can you hear me?"

"Oh Nami! I was just thinking about you."

She smiled.

"We have just finished up and soon we will be going fishing. I'm so excited! How are you?"

"Hi Luffy... uh- I'm on my period. I'm not at my best right now but I'll live. I'm sorry that I'm calling at such a bad time but I need your help with something."

"Anything," he said.

Luffy had an idea about what she was talking about. Robin had told him about it some time ago. He did not understand why Nami had to apologise for needing something. He was also worried about her.

 

The minute he opened the door, Nami glomped him, grinning from ear to ear. Luffy smiled down at her. She smelled nice.

"That was fast," she said.

He left work right away.

"Did you get through? Did Robin help you out?"

He nodded, answering both questions.

"Thanks, Luffy. You're a lifesaver."

"You're welcome," he said handing the bags to her.

"What's all this?" Nami said opening one of the bags to find it nearly half-filled with chocolate. She only asked for two bars.

"Robin said that you'll need the extra. Just in case."

Nami's mouth watered at the assortment. She would be out of her mind to refuse. After all, chocolate was a girl's best friend. She'll have to remind herself to thank the archeologist later.

She noticed Luffy kicking off his sandals and loosening his tie but did not think anything of it. She opened a huge bar and gave him half.

"You know, they had some chocolate candied mikans (Orangette) but I wasn't sure you would like them so I thought that I'd ask you first," Luffy said munching on his chocolate, following Nami into the kitchen where she dumped the ice-cream in the fridge and left the other bags on the counter.

"Chocolate mikan? That's new. I don't think that I'd like those. It's a good thing you didn't pick them up."

"I see."

Luffy walked back out to the living room and laid down on the couch with his hands behind his head. Nami appeared in his vision and their eyes locked.

"Dress over," she said.

She crawled over him and settled in the crook of the chair then turned on her side and eyed him.

"Ne, Luffy?"

"Mm?"

"Don't you have somewhere to go? The guys must be throwing fits just waiting on you."

He faced her with a monkey grin.

"Nope. I'm not going."

"Why not? You were really looking forward to it."

"I cancelled it till another time." Nami was deeply confused.

"Is it because of me?"

He nodded.

"You really didn't have to do that, Luffy. I'm fine." The cramps were subsiding and all she had to do was take a nap or two. It was not the end of the world.

"Because I wanted to put you first."

Her eyes widened.

"It wouldn't be fair to either of us if I'd gone and had fun while you're not feeling well, having a not-so-good kind of day. So I came home to be with you."

Nami smiled and laid back down, putting an arm around him and gazed into his bright eyes.

"You're too much. You know that?"

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Luffy asked. She had her eyes closed and was rubbing her nose against his. It tickled.

"That's a good thing," she said then pressed her silky, soft lips against his and he melted.

"When they were through, she rested her head on his chest with a smile tattooed on her face.

"I really like kissing you, Nami."

"I like kissing you too."

"Maybe we should glue our lips together."

Nami snorted and laughed and laughed till her belly hurt. "Then how will you eat?" she said wiping off the tears off her cheeks.

"That's true," Luffy laughed,"I forgot about that."

He sort for Nami's hand and kissed it. She made a face and asked: "What was that?"

"Saw Sanji doing that to girls before. Weird, huh?"

"It's very 'un-Luffy' like..."

"How about this?" he asked before planting an affectionate kiss on her temple.

She blushed and grinned.

"Much better."

They ended up all snuggled up on the couch, soaking in each other's presence and Nami played with Luffy's hair.

"Wanna watch a movie? We can see if we could find any good ones," she suggested.

"Sounds good," Luffy said but he still held onto her for another 7 minutes. Nami did not mind one bit.

When he finally released her he rose to his feet and thought about a snack he could grab from the kitchen."

"I'll go get the ice-cream."

"Good idea."

 

That evening, they went to a small shopping district to browse around- just a random excursion to get out the house.

Nami had been looking at small faux potted plants for the apartment and the store had a nice variety. Luffy was away looking for the bathroom in order to take a leak.

Meanwhile, a huge muscle guy named Bellamy, was leaning against the store's glass doored fridge, garbed in a biker outfit, drinking a beer that he cracked open. He was driving that night but he did not give a damn. He was waiting for his partner, Starkies who went to the stalls to take a mighty dump. He was taking his sweet time. They had road to cover.

But to hell with that- he had a show; A sexy, hot, glorious show: Some chick, he spotted earlier with fiery orange hair, a nice rack, the perfect rump and she moved with the grace of a real woman. She was his type and he liked what he saw. He and his friend were on their way to a bar to pick up chicks but he would have never thought that he would have found such a gorgeous babe in a mere convenience store. 'Jackpot.'

If his eyes were not playing tricks on him, he saw her come in with some straw hat guy but that could easily be taken care of. Bellamy was a man on a mission.

He flattened and crushed the empty beer can against his forehead- a party trick the ladies loved. It did not hurt nor did it leave a mark. He could crush the most 30 cans against his skull. Today he was planning on beating his own record but he had bigger fish to fry.

He found her by herself looking at fake flowers in one of the far away secluded sections of the store. Hardly any shoppers were around to begin with. Just perfect.

She turned around startled when he slammed a hand above the wall she was next to and dropped the flowers she was examining on the floor in surprise.

He smirked but his eyes widened and he sucked in his breath. She was even more goddamn beautiful up close.

Nami on the other hand wondered how she went from minding her own business to having her personal space invaded by some muscle headed creep.

Bellamy saw the scowl on her face but gave her a hyena-like smile thinking that there was still a chance in hell.

"The name's Bellamy. Surely a foxy thing like you have a name. Let's hear it."

"Move," she said.

"Don't be that way." He looked around,"Were you with someone? Your little brother?"

"My husband. Move."

Nami flared her nose in disgust. His breath smelled like alcohol and cheap breath mints.

Bellamy did not take her statement as a surprise since he had his share of married women in the past. He used his hand and tilted up her chin with calloused, dry fingers.

"Let's say you and I go get a drink and ditch that little, lame, pipsqueak nobody. What do you s-?

"Argh!" He grabbed his pulsing groin, screaming out in pain. Then Nami punched him hard in the nose and it bled uncontrollably.

He cringed in pain and stared at the rage-filled eyes of the now Bitch. He shivered in fear.

"You've got some nerve!" Nami said, glaring down at the pitiful fallen scum before her. "The next time I hear you bad mouthing my husband, I'll. kill. you."

Bellamy's balls weeped. After experiencing the brute force of her knee, he was positive that they shriveled up to half their size. He shied away from her when she pushed her basket away and he listened for the far away clicking heels before he could start breathing again.

Nami cashed her single bag of goods and stood by the exit clenching and unclenching her fists around the handles. She was no stranger to jerks and douchebags who wanted to 'get to know her.' She did not regret taking those self defence classes her parents geared her to attend. She may have been too hard on the guy earlier, but what he said about Luffy pissed her off; so she was sorry not sorry. He deserved it.

She perked up when Luffy came hurrying and waving at her a couple of feet away.

"Finish looking around?" He asked as they went through the automatic exit.

"Yup. I found some neat stuff." Nami wanted to look some more but we all know what happened.

"You know, while I was looking for you, I saw this funny guy laying on the floor," he laughed,"Maybe he's an idiot."

"That guy harassed me earlier but I took care of it. You're right. He is an idiot."

She stopped walking when she was just about to cross the road and noticed that Luffy was not by her side. She turned to see him returning to the shopping centre.

"Luffy? Did you forget something?" She asked moving to follow him back inside.

"Yeah... I'll be back quick so wait here," he answered back; his straw hat shadowing his eyes.

 

Starkies came out the bathroom, zipping up his pants and ran a hand through his blue, shoulder length hair. He scanned through the aisles looking for his friend so they could hit the bar. He had him waiting long enough -he rubbed his belly- but it was worth it.

He came upon a small crowd of people circling around something. Coming to think of it, he heard a loud crash earlier. When he approached, he stopped dead in his tracks and his mouth fell open.

There laid his friend sprawled out on top a broken thrown down shelf of stuffed animals; out cold with a nasty knuckle shaped bruise on the side of his face. Blood oozed from his nose and mouth. He was the strongest guy he knew and seeing him like this must have been some sort of joke.

He stepped forward trembling calling out to his friend: "...Bellamy."

"Oi."

Starkies' blood went cold. There was a dangerous aura coming from where he heard the deep voice. He literally wet himself and collapsed on his rear. He had never seen a man so angry.

"He your friend?" The straw hatted man continued.

Starkies' teeth jittered. He could not even utter a word.

Luffy turned to leave. He did not care for an answer.

"You might want to call an ambulance."

 

Luffy and Nami walked together to the car. It was parked a few streets down from the district. Luffy did not say what he forgot but Nami dismissed it as a trivial matter. She looked down at their hands noticing that he was holding hers tighter than usual ever since he got back. She then looked over her shoulder when she heard the sound of a siren ringing out in the distance.

"Hey Nami?"

"Hmm?"

"Good job today." She thought that he meant her home decal purchases. She was quite proud of them but boy, was she wrong. She however, grinned a triumphant grin and said: "Thanks."

It was dark out and they halted under a street light since it started to drizzle, light, cool specs of rain. It was warm against their skin.

Luffy faced heavenwards, hat dangling from its string around his neck, eyes closed with his mouth curved upwards. Nami beamed. She liked how he found joy in the simplest things.

She mimicked him and her mind wandered back to the douche earlier. She thought about his harsh words directed at her husband. Her incredibly sweet husband. And that upset her. She had always hated how quick people were to judge others who they knew nothing about. But she was sure of one thing and that was that Luffy was more man enough than that loser would ever be.

She tapped Luffy's shoulder and motioned him to come closer. He did and she put a hand on his neck and traced her thumb along his jawline.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" He asked.

"No. I'm going to kiss you." And she did.

Luffy eagerly kissed her back. She leaned more against him and Luffy tensed up. She was doing something weird with her tongue and before he could pull away, she grasped the back of his neck and deepened the kiss. The sound of a groan erupted in Luffy's throat and it was almost as if every strand of hair found on his body stood straight.

The rain commenced beating down harder making Nami let go of him eventually and frantically looked around for the nearest shelter. She gasped when Luffy fell flat on his back into a huge puddle behind him. Now, nothing felt real to him. His racing heart and his stagnant breath did not feel real nor the water seeping into his clothes. What just happened was all so mind-boggling, he needed time to make sense of everything. So he listened closely and heard Nami calling his name in a sing-song voice with those swollen, rosy lips of hers and he focused his eyes on her grinning face and saw that she had her fingers outstretched towards him.

Next he felt the cold rain all around him. He was practically soaked and he laughed that special laugh of his at how silly he may have looked. Then he reached for her hand.

 

Nami sat on a chair in front a mirror in the shared bathroom that her and Luffy's rooms were connected to. She had a towel draped over her shoulders and blow dried her hair to get out the excess water. She listened to the cascading rain outside. If her calculations were right, it would be raining like this till the first rooster crowed.

Luffy came up behind her in dry, change of clothes. He was drenched from head to toe after his quick dive into that puddle. It was hilarious just thinking about it. He smiled at her in the mirror, a big, toothy smile and Nami had to hide her smirk behind the confines of her hand.

"Hey. Let me try," he said reaching for the hair dryer and had already started surveying the chunks of hair that were still damp. She held it back from him and said:

"Let's make a deal. If you help me blow dry my hair, you'll have to make me give you a haircut."

"A haircut?" Luffy said, pulling at a lock of raven hair that flopped on his face. Usopp usually cut it but he did not mind. It was just hair. It was a reasonable bargain.

"Okay."

As he set to work with eyebrows knitted in concentration, Nami hummed quietly with her hands in her lap. She had to remind Luffy earlier not to put the dryer too close to her ears in fear that they would burn but he seemed to know what he was doing much to her relief.

"You have surprisingly good hygiene for a guy, Luffy."

"That hurts, Nami!" She laughed but did not take back her statement because it was true.

Sanji was the main reason behind of this. He would have been greatly grieved if his friend and captain moved into a home with his wife much less with his past bad habits when it came to something as simple as showering everyday. Luffy used to opt for once a week baths and cleansed himself when he 'felt like it.'

The fact disgusted the cook and he drilled the captain by will and by force with the principles of proper hygiene. Be it bathing the most twice a day, flossing his teeth or keeping his finger nails cut and clean at all times. At the end of it all, Sanji was elated with the finishing product, however promised hell if he caught Luffy slipping up the routine he engraved in that thick, stubborn skull of his.

Luffy was now seated with a large, cut out plastic bag around his neck that Nami DIY'd to prevent the pesky hairs from falling all over him. She held an approximate inch and a half of hair between her fingers and a pair of sharp shears in the other, snipping carefully away. Nami had to constantly tell him to keep still. He finally listened when she told him about the possibility of her hands slipping and cutting his ear off. She was not dumb to make that happen but it worked.

Luffy had braided off her hair in two large braids, a skill that he acquired from his long-nosed friend. He was so focused with every loop and cross-over and even celebrated when he was done. Braids were not a part of the deal but Nami thought that they looked cute, even though the part in between was uneven and some hair strands stuck out from the loose plaits.

"Oh. I almost forgot," she said and rested the sheers on the basin in front of Luffy and left the room. Comical streams of sweat ran down his face as he stared long and hard at them. Then a newspaper was presented before him. He took it and scanned its contents- he never cared for newspapers but he was curious to know what Nami wanted to show him.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Here." she pointed to an ad circled in purple ink. "I need your opinion."

She picked up the scissors and ran a hand through his hair admiring her work. She was halfway done.

Luffy blinked at the picture she pointed too. It was colourful and decorated with kid drawings.

"They're looking for a substitute volunteer child care worker at this centre to fill in for a maximum of 2 weeks soon this month. I did some research and its a great place, not too far from here. I was wondering if-"

"You should try it," Luffy said.

"You really think so?" she asked, amazed at his quick answer without giving it any thought.

"Yeah. You'll be perfect for the job and I know that you'll like it." He also trusted her judgement.

She placed both hands on his shoulders, bent down and brushed her lips against his cheek while Luffy searched the paper for the cartoon comic section and continued the haircut.

"Thanks. I'll call tomorrow."

To be continued....


	15. Chapter 15

Momonosuke was up bright and early swinging his bamboo sword; breaking into a sweat, lost in determination. His aim for that morning was 25 swings but he kept on losing count. He had only known how to count up to that point recently from pre-kindergarten but he knew that with practice, he'll learn.

"Momonosuke! Hurry up and get ready! We'll be leaving soon!" his dad, Kin'emon called out.

Momonosuke sulked. He hated school. It got in the way of his dream.

 

Luffy and Nami said goodbye to each other at the school gate. Nami scurried in and Luffy watched her go with a smile on his face. They called her the day after her interview to let her know that it was a success and she was jumping with joy and was flushed with delight when she told him. She was so cute that he had to embrace her. He too shared the excitement.

Before he turned to leave, he heard a commotion coming from closeby. It was Momonosuke sitting on the pavement outside refusing to budge despite his father's pleas. He had his arms folded and his face turned the other way, completely ignoring his dad.

His eyes opened wide in surprise when Luffy grabbed him, picked him up and rested him on his shoulders; spinning him around a few times causing his cheeks to become tickled pink as he laughed at the unexpected fun.

Luffy grinned at his change of mood and said, "My name's Monkey D. Luffy. What's yours?"

"Momonosuke," Momo said with a big smile. He really liked Luffy.

Kin'emon looked on speechless.

"You're giving your dad a hard time," Luffy began," What's the matter? Are you afraid of school?"

"I'm not afraid of anything! I just don't like school and I don't like hanging out with the other kids. I would rather stay at home and practice kendo. To be the greatest kendo fighter in the world. That's my dream!"

Momonosuke came from a long line of kendo practitioners. He was passionate about the sport.

"Hoh?" Luffy was impressed.

"Momo, here's a secret."

"What kind of secret?" He wanted to know so bad.

"In order for a man to have such big dreams, he's going to need friends."

Momonosuke mouth gaped. "Friends?"

"Yes. Friends. Friends are important."

Momo turned to look at his school building and Luffy placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Go see if you can make a friend or two today. It will make school so much more fun. Trust me."

When Momonosuke said bye to Luffy and his father, Kin'emon turned to Luffy and bowed thanking him for his help. Luffy marvelled at his height. He was as tall as Brook.

Kin'emon wanted his son to interact with kids his age since having him at the dojo everyday even though the child did not mind was not healthy for his growing mind and spirit.

He made faces of disgust at the moms who wore clothing above their ankles; the careless show of their bare shoulders and their demeaning display of their cleavage. The women of today he thought were shameless and obscene but despite that, a dust of red sprinkled on his face because somewhere deep down, he liked it.

He then made way back to the solitude of his morning class.

 

Nami spent the early part of the day getting acquainted with the teachers: Camie, Conis and Perona. The worker she was filling in for was Tashigi, a quiet girl she learned who would go on occasional business trips with her strict boss for her second job. Nami had also become familiar with some of the kids she was helping to look after and the environment. It was off to a great start since she asked her colleagues about her duties and even memorized the day's schedule. She wanted to be of much help as possible. Her job was mainly to assist the teachers outside of teaching. Her duties consisted of monitoring the kids while at play, record keeping and participating in activities with the kids. She was dedicated to doing her job well.

She was in high spirits because the kids liked her and she got along fairly well with her workmates. As a uniform she was given the school's t-shirt which she was told to wear with jeans and a comfortable pair of shoes.

She worked along with Camie who was showing their group of 10 children how to make a funny face. She was good but Nami though that Luffy was better. He was the king of pulling funny faces with one end of chopsticks up his nose and the other in his mouth. It never failed to make her laugh.

The kids tried pulling faces of their own but Nami's head tilted after spotting one of the students not participating but smiled deeming him as shy.

After class, Nami got a taste of how demanding kids could be. They asked so many questions and they hung on to her arms and legs and everyone wanted hugs. However, she was enjoying herself. Then all of them wanted to be lifted up high in the air. It went something like this:

"Nami-sensei, Nami-sensei!" The kids cried; their hands up above their heads hoping that their new teacher would choose them next.

"Hai, hai. No seconds until everyone gets a turn."

One of her students called Aisa, looked around and pointed her finger at Momonosuke who was peeking at them. You could tell by his face that he too wanted to join.

"Sensei. Momo didn't get a chance as yet," Aisa said out loud and everybody turned to stare at him. He was shocked and turned around to hide his face believing that if he'd ignore them that they would leave him alone.

The kids knew that Momonosuke always wanted to be left by himself but if he did not come now for his turn, that meant that they would not be getting any seconds and soon began chanting for him to come over. They wanted for so long to be friends with him. To share things with him and to talk with him. He was interesting. He was different.

"Momo-chan~," Nami called out in an inviting tone and her arms opened out to him- a big smile on her face. "Come here. Everyone's waiting for you."

"Yeah-Yeah! It's fun!" Chimney shouted. She was the loudest and hyperactive one in the group.

Momonosuke slowly walked over to them and everyone cheered when he was soared in the air like an aeroplane. It was indeed amusing. Nami-sensei was his new favourite teacher.

The bell rang signalling recess time and the children paired up and ran outside to the playground.

"Everyone, take your time on your way out!" Nami said. The last thing she wanted to happen was for one of them to fall and injure themselves. She placed Momo on her hip and walked outside to join the others. She learned from the teachers that he was a loner and Nami wanted to see if she could help him out in that regard. If he refused, she could try coaxing him another day.

"Momo-chan. Do you want to try playing with the others today?"

"Yeah," he said remembering Luffy's secret. "I'm going to try making friends today."

"That's the spirit!" Nami said. This turned out easier than she expected.

"B-But I don't know how," Momo said staring at his feet.

"Well- let's see. You can-"

Just then a ball rolled over and he picked it up. He and Nami turned to see some boys waving over.

"Oi, Momo! Over here!"

Nami gave him a thumbs up and his cheeks dimpled and his teeth shone bright as he scampered off towards the group.

School was not so bad after all.

Then it was self-play time and Momonosuke sat down with Nami on the play mat while the other kids played nearby. He was pointing out all the colours he knew. He knew them all and wanted to impress her. He would smug victoriously when she showered him with praise. Then he said this out of the blue:

"Nami-sensei, will you marry me?"

Nami blinked twice and sweat dropped smiling nervously at the young samurai.

"Why?"

"Because you're a pretty princess."

"A princess?"

Nami squirmed and hugged him to her pillowy chest.

"Momo-chan, you're so adorable!"

Momonosuke had a sedated, pervy look as he rubbed his face into the softness. Some of the boys looked on with envy.

"Sorry but I can't."

"You can't?"

"I can't marry you. I am already married."

Momo's smile turned upside down and puffed out his cheeks but he was curious; so he sat in her lap and asked: "What is he like?"

"Where should I start?" Nami mused,"Well he's like a superhero."

"A superhero?!" said Momo in awe.

"Yep. And he's loads of fun too... I wouldn't trade him for anyone else."

Momonosuke saw how her eyes sparkled as she spoke. He realised and knew that he did not stand a chance but wanted to see the guy for himself.

After school, he saw Nami-sensei run out and when he looked through the window, his jaw slackened when he saw her greet the guy he met that morning. It was Luffy. But Nami was more excited to see him than he was.

Momo saw him present Nami with a red flower which he fitted in her hair. Then his teacher tied a necklace around his neck. She made it in during craft time, he remembered. She had cut out the felt pendant into a meat shape and she favoured the scented marker that smelled like chicken.

He could not see her face nor hear what they were saying to each other but the way they interacted seemed nice. Luffy had a huge grin plastered on his face, probably the biggest grin he had ever seen in his life.

Luffy caught him staring and was quick to give him a big wave and called his name. He waved back with equal enthusiasm and Nami turned confused and looked back and forth between them. Luffy told her something and she smiled at her student then bid him farewell, promising that she would be back the following day.

Today for him was like a whole new experience. He looked forward to tomorrow and left the sill to play with his friends before his dad came to pick him up. For the first time, he was not ready to go home just yet.

l

l

l

l

l

Luffy arrived home, discarding his keys on the corner table next to the door. It was almost 11pm at night. On Fridays, he started work late and finished late. This resulted him basically having the entire week-end free. He had come home later than usual tonight but there was a reason for that.

The only light that was on came from the living room which was where he found her. Following the sound of her light snoring, she laid all curled up on the sofa, clad in one of his over-sized t-shirts and just underwear with a bookmarked novel just inches above her head. He had called to inform her about his tardiness but did not expect her to wait up for him. That made him happy almost to the point of regretting not coming sooner.

He knelt down and brushed loose orange strands from her face, tucking them behind her ear before hoisting her up. She looked cold having her legs exposed like that.

He threw back her bed cover and laid her down carefully, tucking her in. He paused when she moved, turning to face him and her eyes slowly cracked open, blinking awake, focusing on him.

"Luffy?"

"Hi Nami. I'm home." However, he was wrong because the very moment her lips touched his, he knew that he was truly home.

"Welcome back," she said giving him a heartfelt smile. Luffy grinned at her in return. She was extremely tired but wanted to stay up to tell him those words which she knew meant a lot to him.

"Did you eat something already?" she asked.

"Yup. I ate lots." 'Shishishishi'

"That's good to hear," she said snuggling into her pillow.

"Hey. Go prepare for bed and come sleep next to me tonight. I need company."

When he returned, he climbed in under the covers next to her and when he was just about to hold her from behind, thinking that she had already fallen asleep, she turned around and hooked an arm around his waist and cuddled up against his torso.

"How was your day, Luffy?" she said, battling a yawn.

"It was okay." He stroked her hair when he noticed her nodding off.

"Go to sleep. Don't fight it."

She complied half-consciously and in little and next to no time was out like a light bulb.

Luffy listened to her steady breathing and hugged her closer. He frowned and sighed as he stared ahead of him in the dark.

He had to tell her...

 

To be continued..........


	16. Chapter 16

"A relationship means you come together to make each other better. It's not all about you, and it's not all about them. It's all about the relationship. Support them in their dreams/vision just as much as you would expect them to support you. Challenge each other to go beyond average. Pull out the greatness from within each other. Make sure they can find their biggest fan in you, and you find yours in them." -Trent Shelton

 

Luffy approached Nami and was about to end the call he was having with Ivankov.

"Okay. Thanks for calling and letting me know. Bye."

They were out for lunch at an outdoor diner in town busying themselves colouring the picture at the back of the kids' menu. It became a habit of theirs that Luffy implemented; something that they both looked forward to. It was embarrassing at first but Nami learned to not care for the the judgemental stares and threw caution to the wind.

She took pleasure in the fact that her colouring turned out great compared to Luffy's. It was a competition between them. His own looked decent today since he concentrated on not colouring outside the lines for once. He liked the competition and one thing she learned about him that stood out the most was the fact that he hated to lose.

"What's up?" she asked.

"It's my dad. He collapsed at work today because of overwork and he also has a fever. Iva-chan called to let me know that Dadan would be out of town tomorrow and no one will be around to help look after him." He picked up his crayon. " He will be hiring a nurse. I hope that he gets better soon."

"I can help look after him," said Nami.

"Really?"

"Yeah. It also gives us the chance to know each other better. It'll be fine."

Luffy cultivated an excellent bond with her parents and she unfortunately never got around to have a wholesome conversation with her father-in-law and wanted to pounce on the opportunity.

He smiled that charming smile he does from time to time and his lips were on hers for a split second.

"That will be awesome," he said standing back up," I'll go call Iva-chan back right now."

He left Nami in a flushing mess because he rarely initiated kissing so when he did, it always was a pleasant surprise.

She reached blindly for her strawberry milkshake but it was gone. She had only literally taken a few sips from it and she clenched her hand into a fist and leered into the direction Luffy vanished.

The waiter brought the final dish he ordered despite already eating a whale's worth of food and was unsurprisingly still hungry. She thanked the young man and smirked deviously at the sweet smelling dish before her. It was payback time.

 

 

Nami knocked on Dragon's door and upon entering asked him how the fever was treating him.

"I feel like shit."

"You look like shit," she said and Dragon chuckled. That was probably true.

He had already bathed, had taken his medicine and was glued to his bed. He would rather be at work right now but thanks to his collapse yesterday, he got a full day of rest that he needed and decided to take his queer friend's advice and take the extra day off due to the fever. Not to mention his massive headache.

"Luffy said that he would come visit you after work today," Nami said.

Knowing his son, Dragon knew that he would throw a party of some sort to celebrate his absence. It would be a change for his subordinates since the 'scary boss' as they would dub him managed the company with an iron fist.

"You need to start taking it easy. Don't be too hard on yourself. Everyone should take a break every once in awhile. That includes you too."

Dragon agreed and ate the tasty soup that Nami made him. She had also prepared a basin with a rag and cool water. He was just relieved that she knew what she was doing unlike his scatterbrained son who thought that the solution for everything was meat.

She sat on the chair at his bedside.

"Do you like the soup?"

"It's delicious," he said slurping on his spoon. "Everything's okay at home with Luffy?"

"Things are fine with us. When it gets challenging, we pull through together and reap the awards."

"Luffy could be a handful but he's a hard worker with a big heart."

"You miss him a lot, huh?"

"Not really... well he is my son," Dragon muttered under his breath.

Nami smiled at him,"Sorry that I took him away from you, but you don't have to worry one bit," She pounded her fist into her palm," I'll take care of him."

Dragon laughed. He hadn't laughed this good in a while; ever since his son left home.

"Is that son of mine treating you well?"

His daughter-in-law gave him a closed-eyed grin. "Yes. He is. In fact, just the other day he made me some coffee in bed. It was questionable at first but he said that he asked Sanji-kun to help him learn how to make it after noticing that I never finish my morning coffee since I'm not the best at it. I just make it for the caffeine. So you could imagine how surprised I was when he brought me a fresh brew."

"Luffy did that?" Dragon was impressed. He did not know that Luffy was that observant. "How was it? Did you die?"

Nami snorted. "You really don't have an ounce of faith in your son's culinary skills, do you?

"One time he cooked me a meal when he was much younger. It was horrible and I had to take a trip to the hospital."

"No way. Really?"

"It's true." They both shared a laugh.

"Well I was skeptical at first but when I tried it, it was actually really good. Luffy's very thoughtful. He was so happy that I liked it and said that he was willing to make it again as often as I needed. He worked really hard on getting it just right and I appreciated it so much that I couldn't say no."

She smiled to herself as she thought back to that time then her mind flashed on the intense makeout session they had afterwards. She felt her body heating up and fanned herself with her hand. 'Oh great.' It was such an "appropriate" thing to think about now.

"Luffy's really growing up," Dragon said.

"Maybe he should try making you some food one day. I can assure you that he has gotten a lot better."

"... I'll think about it."

"We usually cook our meals together but I asked Sanji-kun to email me the recipes for Luffy's favourite dishes. I want to surprise him. It will take a while cause it would be a lot to cook but I'm sure that I can handle it. It would be a piece of cake. I can't wait to see the look on his face."

Dragon beamed at his daughter-in-law. The power of youth can never be conquered.

"He'll like that," said he and Nami grinned because she was sure of that too.

"I got something I want to show you," Dragon said reaching for his notebook on the side table and handed Nami a picture.

"What is it?" She flipped it around and her eyes widened and blush spread on her cheeks. "Is this..."

"That's Luffy as a baby. That brat had the biggest appetite even when in nappies."

Nami brought the picture closer to soak in the cuteness. There he was with his little feet and little hands seated in a high chair with food everywhere, mostly on his face, covering his round, chubby cheeks and his big, milky eyes stared right back at her with a toothless broad smile. This was a blessed day and it was as if she struck gold.

Dragon was amused with the speechless girl. Her hands were literally trembling as she examined every inch of the photograph.

"Adorable, isn't he? You can have it."

"Thanks."

"Oh no. Don't worry. I have a lot m-"

He sweatdropped as he watched her secure the picture in her bag and carefully zipped it up.

"Huh? Were you saying something?"

Dragon scratched his head and looked the other way.

"No. Nothing at all."

"Okay."

She stood to retrieve the now-empty soup bowl and the portable breakfast tray and rested them on the floor beside her chair.

"Thanks for that. I think that I'm already starting to feel better."

She smiled and set out to change the rag on his forehead and sat down to chat a little longer before he went to sleep. She was enjoying her time spent just catching up with him. He was easy to talk to.

"Nami-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Luffy's been through a lot over the past few years. A whole lot. However, he seems happier lately at work and I'm grateful to you for that. Thank you."

"Is that so? I'm glad." It was a nice feeling to hear that you had a positive impact on someone's life; especially of that of your spouse. It made her heart glad.

"There's another matter I would like to discuss with you. Knowing Luffy he might not think of it as a big deal but his field of work isn't what you would call a bed of roses. It's on an entirely opposite level. I don't know if he told you already but I'll-"

He paused after realising that she had gone still and her orange bangs sheltered her face.

"He did." She looked at him dead in the eyes and he saw a questionable glint in her eye and the corners of her mouth turned down.

"It was a few days ago..."

 

A few days ago...

Nami and Luffy stood side by side at the kitchen sink taking care of the soiled dishes they used for dinner. She washed and he rinsed.

Nami sensed that Luffy had something weighing on his mind and it was a matter of time he spilled the beans because during the whole washing up he hardly uttered a word and the only time he would have been this quiet was only when he slept. However, she decided to wait.

She handed him the last plate which he took care of and settled it in the dish drainer before wiping his hands dry in the towel.

"That's everything, right?"

"Uhuh. Thanks for your help, Luffy."

She unclogged the drains, letting the water out and dried the surrounding areas that got wet during the process.

Luffy walked 4 feet away from her before deciding against leaving the kitchen. His mind strained as he thought about how she was going to react to what he had to say to her. He had no clue.

"Nami?"

"Hm? What is it, Luffy?" She turned and leaned on the sink as she dried her hands. Just one look at him was enough to see that he was troubled.

He stared at his feet and said remembering the meeting he had with Zoro and his dad; the very reason he was late that night. "I don't think that... I haven't been completely honest with you about my job."

Nami cocked and eyebrow and folded her arms. "What do you mean?"

"There had been times where I'd have to do some risky things and get into risky situations. I will tell you everything but-"

"No wait. What do you mean by risky?" She became worried. "Luffy, look at me. Look at me."

His eyes cast on hers.

"Have you ever killed someone before?"

"No. I have never killed anyone."

"H-have anyone tried killing you?"

He went quiet and Nami's breathing quickened.

"Tell me."

"Yes." He looked away for a split second feeling out of place and addressed her again. "But-" His eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat.

Her eyes grew wet with tears and they cascaded down her cheeks. She raised her finger and touched the wet and looked at it closely as if realising for the first time that she was crying. Soon the tirade of emotions flooded her and the tears came rushing forth. She sank to her knees, covering her face sobbing quietly, and muttered: "Oh God. Oh God."

She was angry. No. She was furious. She wanted to yell at him; telling him that he did not care about her and how much of a selfish person he was. She wanted to tell him that she hated him. The citrus dishwashing liquid that she liked was stink on her hands and she felt like she was going to be sick. It was not fair. It was as if all this time from ever since she first met him till now had been a dream and soon, any second now, she would wake up.

But she was confusing herself. Why does she feel clouded with hatred when she knew to herself that all those bad things she wanted to say to him- not one of those things were true. It was just a defense; a wall she built around herself to mask her true feelings.

His hands removed hers from her eyes and in that moment, her wall crumbled. It was not resentment she was feeling. It was fear.

Her breathing heaved and she hiccuped but the tears did not stop.

It pained Luffy to see her like that. "Nami please don't cry... Please."

"... Luffy!" She flung herself into his arms and the way she clung to him was as if he would disappear. She outright wailed. Her fingers creating creases in his shirt and he felt her warm tears on his neck."

"Please."

His arms came around her to elicit comfort. He shut his eyes tight and furrowed his brows. He was a sponge to her sorrow.

After what felt like ages, she quieted down, sniffled and just laid slump against him. What Luffy had to say to her next would hurt but it hurt more to see her in agony like this and he could not stand it.

"Hey. Are you listening?"

She nodded and the light quake of her shoulders did not go unnoticed.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking and I have decided that I should step down from my team and pursue something else. Something else less dangerous. Dad would have to find some other team to rely on and as for the guys; they have their own dreams they want to accomplish so I know that they would not mind the decision too much..."

Nami's ears picked up every word and frowned. She was upset and Luffy was not being himself. She leaned up to stare right at him.

"What about your dream, Luffy?"

His hand caressed her damp face. "I'll just have to find another one."

"No Luffy. There's no off switch to dreams. They make us who we are. You've been doing this for years and I know how much you adore what you do. Helping people; saving their lives is an amazing dream. It takes guts to do what you do and I think that that is amazing and I believe in you... As your wife, one of my jobs is to support you in your endeavours and I don't think that I would be pleased to know that I encouraged you to do otherwise."

Luffy batted his eyes credulously then closed them when she kissed his scar.

"Geez. You're always so reckless but I'm glad that you spoke to me about your concerns before making a rash decision." She gave him a half smile but it fell when he took his hat off and placed it on her head. Astonished was an understatement. This was his precious hat. Why would he let her wear it? She tilted it to see if she could read his expression but strange enough, it was more sad than happy.

"Thank you so much, Nami... but," He wiped the liquid away from both her eyes, "I'm sorry that I made you cry. Will you forgive me?"

Nami nodded profusely. The straw hat made crunching sounds as she moved.

"Yes. Of course I forgive you Luffy." She cupped his solemn face. "Listen. I'm glad I married you... I just want you to please take care of yourself. Okay?"

"Of course I will. We have a future together and you mean the world to me. Don't forget that."

Nami regarded him with unblinking eyes and her mouth gaped. Soon her eyes began to drip once more but this time she wore a radiant smile upon her face and reached up to hug his neck.

Luffy was left baffled.

"Oi, Nami. What's wrong, I said that I was sorry. Please don't cr-"

She shook her head and said: "Don't worry about these tears, Luffy. I'm perfectly fine."

"You sure?"

"Definitely."

It was one of the happiest days of her life.

 

Dragon rose both his non-existent eyebrows at her after hearing the story. Of course, the juicy bits were kept to herself. She dazed in mid air and thought randomly that she wanted to hear her husband's voice so decided to give him a call after her chat with the father-in-law.

"I had no idea. Luffy has really matured."

"He looks up to you a lot, you know. As someone who had accomplished so much and have helped so many people, Luffy thrives to be on the same summit as you; even higher."

"Even higher, huh? He can try." He smirked at the thought.

"Oh yeah. Luffy said that you were withholding missions from his group and giving them to other persons in the company. Why is that?" She titled her head and that fake smile on her face was depositing a dark aura and Dragon probably for the first time began to fear for his life.

"Well- uh..."

"I will have to thank you for putting me into consideration but time is ticking away which Luffy could be using to gain a step closer to his goal. Do you understand that?"

A sweatdrop or two settled on his tattooed forehead as he gulped. "Yes ma'am."

"Nice to hear that we are on the same page."

Dragon breathed a sigh of relief. He never would have dreamed about the day he would be lectured by someone old enough to be his child. Never dreamed that it would be by his son's wife. She was one of a kind.

He cleared his throat and asked: "Do you know what Luffy's most afraid of?"

"He's afraid of being alone." They both said at the same time.

"That's right," Dragon said, "He deems it as one of the worst feelings in the world. He has had that mentality ever since young."

Luffy was home-schooled and did not have friends his age until Ace arrived. He remembered it being a terrible time for his son when the boy passed.

"Friends have always been foremost in Luffy's mind. I understand that. Friends are around when you need them the most; they uplift you; want the best for you and care for you deeply. Those friends that he has on his team, I have never seen people so loyal. Each of them have their own lives, own dreams and their own reasons for following Luffy- A remarkable bunch.

Luffy has a way of dragging out the good in people, causing them to flock to be around him. When I asked about each of their back stories, I'm always left confused as to why they are so anxious to follow my son; and their answers were always the same: "He saved me."

They claim that that's why they want to help him fulfill his goal even if it means putting their lives on the line."

"...Yeah." Nami said staring at her hands.

"By the way Nami-chan, the report, Robin sent up to me, she claimed that you helped out with deciding on a location. I would like you to thank you. Those people were indeed found and returned safely home. The guys responsible were captured; all thanks to you. Good job."

Dragon nodded satisfied as he finally got that off his chest. He forgot to tell Luffy's team the good news. He closed his eyes for sleep was calling. He would not mind having her skills at his company. She was a cartographer, geographer, navigator and meteorologist. It was not everyday you came across someone with such outstanding skills; but had a hitch that Luffy would score him a knuckle sandwich to the face and he very much liked his face despite the lack of eyebrows.

"It's good news that you guys were able to get to those people on time. While we are on that topic, I'd like to join the Monkey D. Corp, especially on Luffy's team." Dragon's tired eyes popped open. " Whatever training I have to do, I'll do it and I believe that I could be of further assistance in the upcoming events of the company. I think that you have guessed by now my motive. I too want to help Luffy. If I could help him along the way with whatever effort I could contribute, I am willing to do anything I can. I'm confident about that."

She had not yet told Luffy about her plans but figured that it would be best to consult the source first. At least, that is how she would know whether or not she was qualified.

That day, Nami won Dragon's utmost respect.

To be continued


	17. Chapter 17

Coming back from the gym located down the street after a satisfying workout, Nami latched the door behind her and walked towards the kitchen with some mail and the morning paper from their designated P.O box. One in particular was from her mom. She had called sometime ago to inform her that she was going to send something and Nami was curious to see what it was.

She went to the kitchen and sat down at the dining table to eat her breakfast sandwich, Luffy was smart enough to leave alone.

As she ate, Nami tore open the envelope and pulled out a note written in her mom's lazy cursive, titled, "Your Wedding Day."

 

Your Wedding Day

Sorry that I'm sending this late, kiddo. I just remembered I had taken these.

Hope you like them. ;)

-Mom xoxo

 

Nami then pulled out a second envelope coloured orange after setting down the note and she smiled. Inside were a handful of pictures of the big day. She was relieved since the only picture she thought she had of the occasion was the group photo Makino took with her, Luffy and his friends at the Party Bar.

The first picture was of Luffy and her dancing the day before the wedding at their reception/reunion party. It was a great picture but there was no memory of her mom agreeing to be her secret photographer. She would have to make it up to her later. The next showed the group pic she took with her parents and Nojiko. All of them with smiling faces.

She found secret photos of her taken in her wedding dress her mom helped pick out and in all the photos she saw of herself, she was surprised how composed she appeared to be because on the inside, she was everything but.

There was one with her dad walking her down the aisle. She remembered that moment well. Although it was just a small ceremony consisting of just the saying of the vows and the signing of the legal documents, her mom insisted that it should be like the real thing. The room was enriched with pink and white pastel coloured ribbon, and fragrant with fresh flowers, the air flowed with light piano music as her dad guided her down the corridor with a firm grip of her arm with wet, soggy eyes.

She remembered the soft fabric of her dress grazing her knees and the sound of her heels clicking with each step and all eyes were on her but she was most focused on the groom.

It was the first time they saw each other that day. He was up there standing at the alter next to the priest looking dashing in his suit. However, he stood stunned. Eyes opened wide and parted lips looking in her direction.

Now thinking about it, she did happen to look back to see what he found so interesting and how self conscious she felt after coming to realize that he was looking at her. A million things ran through her mind:

'Does he dislike the dress? Should I have bought the other one instead? Maybe I should have styled my hair differently. Maybe he could see how tired my eyes were since I could hardly sleep a wink last night. I hope I look okay.'

His attention was so transfixed on her as if he was looking right through her. But when she finally stood across from him, do you know what he told her? He told her that she was beautiful.

Bellemere caught that moment perfectly; Nami could see how she and Luffy stared at each other with big stupid grins on their faces.

Her parents made sure that she felt special that day and for that she was truly grateful.

Nami stood up on her feet to go show Luffy. It had been quiet ever since she came back and she wondered where he could be. He was still here. Luffy would never leave the house without telling her so that only meant one thing.

She spotted him napping on the living room rug and she quickly left to return with her cellphone. Let's just say that she was inspired.

She tiptoed, got on her knees and loomed over him and waited for the camera to gain focus of his face. Suddenly, Luffy knotted his brows and used his hand to lift his shirt up and scratch his stomach, revealing his impossibly toned abs. Nami's camera lowered and her hand automatically took a picture, just because.

His arm accidentally brushed her thigh and she froze because she knew what was coming next. Luffy sighed in his sleep, tossed his arms out and held onto her. She was trapped.

Nami tried to get away but like usual, Luffy had the iron grip of a bear. The only method that worked in this situation was food or a good beating but there was no need to wake him; Besides, who would want to trouble a sleeping angel? She combed away his outgrown hair, making a mental note to schedule another haircut then kissed his forehead which gleamed with a thin sheet of perspiration. Then she laid her head on his chest for she had no idea when he was planning on waking up so she decided to make herself comfortable.

"Heavy..." mumbled Luffy and Nami's head ticked and she instantly discarded the angel idea.

All of a sudden, he turned on his side, taking her with him and Nami narrowed her eyes at him. She did not plan on being a rag doll and the thought of waking him up now appealed to her. Their feet were now tangled; his nose buried in her hair.

"Nami," he said in that sexy, deep, drowsy voice of his and his warm breath tingled her skin.

One thing about Luffy which was more entertaining than annoying was that he sleep talked. Nami would at times tease him a bit asking incoherent questions and his face would turn scarlet. She had to stop when he awoke with a headache;so she kept the conversations simple.

He would never know.

"What is it, Luffy?"

His belly growled. "Hungry..."

"Hai, hai," she said pinching his stretchy cheeks.

"Ouch. It hurts~..." he whined.

Luffy actually chose a good spot to have a nap. It was blazing hot today and the air conditioning aided little. The floor was the coolest spot in the entire apartment.

Not abandoning her mission, Nami grabbed her phone and snapped a picture. It was not a bad angle but she wanted a little diversity. Her hand fished around the coffee table and successfully found her purple marker, and slowly removed the cover all while studying her canvas. How cool would it be if Luffy had a mustache? And she set to work.

 

Nami was seated at her desk, hard at work and in came Luffy to tell her goodnight. Her makeshift mustache was left a ghost after he washed. May it rest in peace.

"Hey," she said and set her glasses aside.

Luffy pulled up his stool- a chair he kept in her room he used when he wanted to watch her work- and sat down beside her. She made him watch under the condition that he did not touch anything. A request that he was able to follow through.

"Hey," he said and sat down comfortably with his legs folded underneath him.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah, sure."

"You know, when my parents told me that I was adopted 10 years ago, I was confused at first and very heartbroken. It all made sense why all the other kids looked like their parents and I didn't. All the pieces finally fell into place," said Nami as she played with her fingers.

"I became depressed and would cry in my sleep because I wanted to know who my real parents were, coupled with the fact that I've been lied to all my life.

After that, I became a rebellious child and even told them that I didn't need them and that I could take care of myself all on my own. I used to steal and I ran away from home a couple of times. I wanted so much for them to hate me. But no matter how much trouble I would put them in, they still stuck out their necks for me and treated me like their own daughter, like their own flesh and blood."

"They cared about you," Luffy said.

"They did. And when I came to realize that, I decided to change. They have no idea how thankful I am for them; how grateful. They are the ones who are responsible for who I am today..." She laced her fingers through his and grasped his hand, "...Where I am today." And she gave him a loving smile.

"I've never told anyone that before."

Luffy knew to himself that Nami had awesome parents. Her dad wore a cool pinwheel atop his hat and when asked about it, Luffy learned that back when Nami was a baby, she would always cry when she saw his face so only when he employed the pinwheel, he was able to make her laugh and smile. Bellemere, being the proud mother she is, always boasted about Nami's achievements and the willing sacrifices she would make for her when she was a child for in the beginning, they did not have much.

"You should tell them," he said. "It would make them very happy."

"Okay. I'll do that."

Nami replaced her glasses back over her eyes. She had to get back to work.

"How's the map?" Luffy asked and Nami moved her hand to show him her progress. It was for a map competition she was asked via email to take part in. This map in particular was no easy task. She had been working real hard on it; day in and day out, ensuring that every detail was included.

"This map is super hard," Nami said. "I would be surprised if I placed."

Luffy put an arm around her and tugged her close. "What are you talking about, Nami? You're incredible. You can easily top those other guys." He then flashed his pearly whites and she smiled warmly at him.

"You really think I can?"

"You can and you will."

That's right. She almost forgot. Luffy was her biggest fan and she did not want to let him down.

To be continued...


	18. Chapter 18

"Love is not about how much you say "I love you," but how much you can prove that it's true."- Unknown

 

Luffy and Nami laid down on the couch, she reading her book, back turned to him and he flipped through the channels with a bored expression on his face. There was nothing to watch. It was just news, news and more news. He breathed out an exasperated sigh and switched the T.V off.

Nami had in her earplugs listening to music on her phone but the volume was turned down low enough in case Luffy wanted to tell her something. She heard him sigh and saw him turn off the television's power. The next thing she knew, he had an arm around her waist.

She took out her earplugs and asked, "Something wrong?"

"Nope. I just wanna tell you that I'm in love with you."

Nami stared at the blank television screen with a beknown look on her face. She then bookmarked her nearly finished novel and turned in his arms and kissed him.

"I know," she said leaning back with a smirk on her face. "I'm in love with you too."

Luffy blankly stared back at her. "Wait. How did you know? Are you a psychic?" He honestly was not expecting an answer, he just wanted to let her know.

"I know because love is more than just a word, Luffy. It's an action. I knew because you showed me through your actions and I easily figured it out."

They have been married for 5 months now. Where did the time go? Her mind wondered to the moment she first realized that she had fallen hard for him. It took only one month after living together. Only one month. First she thought that it was impossible and decided to give it another month; but the day after they shared a bed together and when she awoke, he was up staring at her with the sweetest of smiles and he told her that he missed her and she knew that she did not need another month, another second. She was in love.

That morning when he left for work, she took her phone and hid under his bed covers and phoned Nojiko. Her heart beat fast with anticipation and her face hurt from smiling too hard. When Nojiko finally picked up her cell, Nami blurted out:

"Nojiko, I'm in love! With Luffy of course. Who else?!"

Her best friend was not as excited as she was but it felt great to say it out loud.

Robin's assumptions were wrong that night at the bar when she said that Luffy probably didn't know what love was and that she would have to teach him. But what Robin didn't know was that neither did she.

Love was the little things that he did. Sometimes when they crossed ways in the house, Luffy would step in her path and hug her for no apparent reason, he would offer to share his food, sacrifice his time to spend with her, and the way he would look at her as if she was the most beautiful woman in the world. All these little things added up and Nami knew that she was loved in return.

But she did not want to tell him just yet. She wanted to give him the pleasure of saying it first so she decided to show her love for him instead.

Luffy was her greatest friend. They could talk about anything and they were crazy intimate with each other. Nami denoted that the times when they were most vulnerable with each other brought them together the closest. It was all magical really but it all made sense.

Nami climbed out of her thoughts back to reality and blushed when she saw Luffy staring at her with a small smile. She zoned out for a long time.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm just thinking that you have loved me for a really, really long time."

"I did, and so did you."

Nami had always questioned what it was like to be in love. Girls in high school would mush about falling in love at first sight or claiming to be in love with the most popular guys. The kind of relationships that made girls squeal, gush and ramble on and on how it was meant-to-be. However, the results were always the same: She would be crying over a breakup or be heartbroken because these 'amazing' guys decided to chose someone else and the abandon girlfriend would be too miserable to come to school for a while. Don't get her wrong. Some of these girls she went to school with ended up having successful marriages but she came to realize something: Love was a fleeting feeling. Love simply was not enough to keep people happily together. It was much more than that and she wanted to find out for herself; Her supposed "True Love."

When she met Luffy or any of her past suitors, she always asked herself two questions: "Can I love this person?" And if the answer was "Yes," she move on to the next: "Can I stay in love with this person?" So far only Luffy was able to get passed her first question. "Yes," and "Yes" again.

Luffy gave her a closed eyed grin and she touched his face. "Have I ever told you how much I love your smile? It's as bright as the sun and always so sure," she began.

"No. You've never told me that."

"I like your boyish features, your long hugs, your thoughtfulness, your positivity, your carefree spirit, your will. I love it all."

Luffy said,"Thanks." But felt rivaled and wanted to say something too but was sure that he had a feeling he already told her all that he fancied about her.

"Well, I really like it when you call me captain."

"Is that so, captain?" Nami said with a tease of a smile.

"Yeah. And when you sing in the shower. I like that too."

"You listen to me sing in the shower?"

"Yeah."

"That's weird."

"How is that weird? You have a pretty voice."

"Thank you," she said and giggled. "You should hear yourself sing in the shower. It can surely raise the dead. I even recorded some of your sessions on my phone. Wanna hear them?"

"And you call me weird..."

'Heehee' she laughed and stuck out her tongue.

"I've always wondered why sometimes when we decide on our sleepovers, I wake up to find you on the floor. It peeves me."

"Well we can't cuddle all night. It gets hot. Plus you always hog all the covers and all the room on the bed. You even push me off the bed in your sleep."

"I do not. What are you talking about?"

"You do," Luffy said and kissed her nose. "Trust me, you do."

Nami cascaded her eyes downwards and puffed out her cheeks causing Luffy to snicker.

"Do you know why I married you?" he asked.

"Is it because I'm cute?" she answered with an amused roll of the eyes.

"No, not that. It's because you're a strong woman and I thought that if I got married that I would like to marry someone like that."

"And?"

"... And because you're cute."

Nami smiled sheepishly at her husband. "Thanks for telling me that. It feels nice to know. Feels like I could take on the whole world."

'Shishishi'

"Luffy?"

"Hm?"

"Do you know what cheating is?"

Nami became wary of an overweight woman who Luffy bumped into during the early days of their lodging in their apartment. She was another resident. Although Luffy apologized, Nami didn't like the way the bitch's eyes lingered on him after he helped her get back to her feet.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she started working out and wore revealing clothing to suffocate her now slender body. Having all the men she came across lick her shoes like dogs but she was never able to catch Luffy's eye no matter how forward she was with him. Luffy never took a hint and she did not have the audacity to leave a clearly married man alone. Even having the nerve to flirt with her husband in her presence.

She recently got a debut to act in a lotion commercial and even acquired the nickname, "Alvida The Smooth." Well known for her beauty and smooth skin as well as the heartthrob of young, horny, pubescent and teenage boys.

Alas, even though Luffy told her to leave him alone, her infatuation for him only increased. People like her who sort for the attention of someone who is married were the absolute worst in her opinion but decided to hope that one day Alvida would come to her senses and leave her man alone. It was unfathomable why shameless women like her existed in the first place.

"Like on tests?"

"Yes, but when it comes to marriage, it's like doing all these things that married people do with someone else they're not married to."

"Is the person that they're married to usually okay with them doing that?"

"No."

"If I do that, you'll be sad, right?"

"I'll be devastated."

"Well, simple. I will never, ever do that to you. I can't believe people think that it's okay to do that. How can some people be so stupid?" He found the idea of cheating preposterous. Imagine all the time used to gain someone's trust and to have it shatter in an instant. It angered him.

"Some couples develop problems in their marriages and seek outside companionship since they become unhappy."

"They should work on talking about those problems together. If they can't at least do that, then they don't deserve to be married to each other anymore."

"I won't do that either. I want to stay loyal to you, Luffy. All the days of my life." She desired no one else.

"Luffy? Is there anything else I could do to make you feel more loved?"

"Anything?" Nami nodded and he thought long and hard.

"Oh, I know! Let's get a dog," he said grinning. Nami frowned.

"For the last time, our apartment doesn't allow us to have pets." A rule she was thankful for since knowing her husband, they wouldn't just have a dog. They'll have the entire animal kingdom to deal with. Every animal they came across, he wanted one and have even tried to tame the wildest of beasts. She guessed that was the reason why his dad kept their home animal-free.

"That's too bad," said Luffy, pursing his lips.

"Now think harder and be serious."

"Okay." Then he thought again and his face lightened up. "I got it."

"Well, let's hear it."

"Don't stop."

"Don't stop...?" Nami repeated confused then her eyes widened.

"Don't stop loving me," he said and his hand slid down to the small of her back and he kissed her lips that were sugared with the oranges they shared earlier. "I won't stop either. I will choose to love you every single day. That's a promise." Then her lips were his again.

Nami's heart thumped at a dangerous speed against her chest as she laid under the mercy of her husband.

How did he know what to do? How did he know the right words to say? She wanted to cry tears of happiness. Luffy was the only person who made her cry so. How did he do that? How?

She hugged him close, face buried in the crook of his neck and she nodded giving him approval of his easy request.

"I love you, Luffy."

'Shishishishi' he chucked.

"I love you so, so much."

"I love you too, Nami."

"Hey," she said and move back a little to look at him. The book she was reading got pushed off the couch but she ignored it. "Let's do something." Her hazel eyes wild and bright.

"Like what?" asked Luffy.

"Oh, I don't know... How about we put on something nice and get out of the house. Maybe we can check out the new restaurant that opened downtown. It seems promising."

Luffy perked up and wiped the drool from the side of his mouth at the prospect of food.

"Okay."

 

They were chauffeured to a table in a lightly dimmed restaurant and were given a serving of warm bread as they waited for their menus. Nami acquainted herself with her utensils, slightly cringing at the jazz music that played in the background. Luffy stuffed his face with the bread, his chin in one hand as he surveyed the other guests' food. The portions were ridiculously small and the atmosphere was boring with people who dressed in a manner that implied they sat on golden toilets and ate with silver spoons. It was quite dull.

"This place is lame!" Luffy said and Nami scolded him because all the hushed conversations around them seized and were glaring at their table before begrudgingly turning back to their meals.

"You have to be quiet, Luffy. I know that you are hungry. I am too. Let's just order something, then we can leave."

The waiter came and handed them each the menus and walked over to seat a small group of businessmen.

Nami stared at the menu but when her eyes graced the prices, she had to resist the urge to tear it to pieces. She stood up abruptly and her chair made a loud echoing noise as it was pushed back roughly on the floor. The whole room silenced, even the musicians stopped playing their horrid music. It was her turn to be glared at but Nami didn't care. They could all go to hell.

Luffy's eyebrow's rose in surprise. "Nami?"

She gathered her coat and her bag and held out her hand towards him. "Let's go."

 

Our couple strolled down the street passing under the yellow glow of the street lamps. Nami was still clearly pissed.

"Could you believe those prices? I'm shocked by the amount of people who had the gall to eat there. It's like flushing hard earned money down the toilet. What is this world coming to?" She was upset because her idea of a romantic night backfired. It was supposed to be perfect.

"The bread was good though," said Luffy.

"It was but-"

"I bet that that bread alone would have cost a gazillion dollars. We practically ate and ran. Did you see the waiter's face? Hahaha!"

"Yeah," Nami laughed along with him. He smiled at her as she hooked her arm around his and rest her head on his shoulder. He was glad that she calmed down.

"That was fun and you were pretty badass back there, Nami."

"Really? Would you believe me if I told you that my first impulse was to burn that place down?"

Luffy sweat-dropped. "Yeah, I'd believe you." He knew his wife well.

"Listen." He stopped walking and she looked up at him. "I have a friend not too far from here who runs this fun karaoke place. The food's good too. Bon-chan might also give us a discount. What do you say?

There went Luffy again, saving the day. What would she do without him? As long as it was a far cry from that sleazy, rip off restaurant, she was game for anything.

"How's the music?"

To be continued...


	19. Chapter 19

"Wait for the one who simply adores you. The kind of person who makes you smile like no one ever has. Wait for the person who wants to show you off to the world because they are so proud of you. And most of all, wait for the person who will make you a priority, because that's where you belong." -Unknown

 

"Marry someone who is driven and hardworking. Someone who optimistically supports and uplifts you in regards to your goals. Someone who will do things that do not thrill them, simply to enrich you. Marry someone who is honest. Honest with you, with others and with themselves. Deceit will benefit no one. You cannot love someone you do not trust. Find someone who willingly shares responsibility. Someone who doesn't explicit you to adhere to silly gender roles. You will be a team in every single sense. Find someone who you cherish togetherness with. And someone who understands the importance of alone time. Someone who values your opinion. Someone with a willingness to learn. A person with an open mind. Ignorance is never attractive. Find someone who makes it easy to feel grateful. In everything. Someone who serves you. And someone you want to serve, without reward."- Unknown

 

 

Palm trees rustled in the wind and sea gulls fought over already caught food from those who put in the effort. Waves crashed smooth against the shoreline and the crew could be found littered in with the other few occupants of the beach. Skies were clear, sun was out. It was a perfect day.

Zoro took a swig of his booze under a coconut tree, put his hands behind his head and leaned back ready for a nap. Brook strung halfheartedly on his ukulele, ogling the ladies who walked around in their bikini bottoms, an activity he got away with by the help of his large dark sunglasses while Franky and Chopper grabbed cola and ice from the trunk of the rented van. Usopp sat on the sand, carefully adjusting the fishing rods and Robin relaxed on one of the two lounge chairs, clad in a violet bikini reading a book. Sanji was at the grill cooking up some grub and he like Brook was having a grand time admiring the view.

They were in the middle of a fun-filled, chill day to celebrate Nami's joining the group. Most of them called it from the very beginning. Yet they were all happy for the new crew mate even though some *cough* Zoro *cough* didn't particularly show it.

 

At first, Luffy wanted to ask her thinking that it would be another great opportunity to spend time together but thought against it because Nami had a dream that she loved dearly so he simply thought that she would not have the time. So when she told him out of the blue that she really wanted to, he was quick to comply. However, he had doubts since he knew the tediousness of his field. Not that he did not have confidence in Nami's skills. She knew how to get herself around and how to take care of herself to some extent.

Soon, he and his team would be going on a mission his dad scheduled. Nami unfortunately would not be coming along because unlike Zoro and Sanji, the rest of the crew had to go through some training before they could truly be ready for whatever was out there. The world was a sketchy place.

Once you became a revolutionary, you automatically became an enemy of the world government. How something as strong as the government was not able to take down a risky man like Dragon? Easy. Dragon was a smart man, a dangerous man with links here, there and everywhere. One strategy had to deal with your identity. You protected it. If the government officials knew about Dragon, they did a good job pretending that they didn't. There was no question how the world would react if something were to happen to someone as powerful as Monkey D. Dragon. Although most of his work was done privately, he had the backing of many nations.

When it came to Luffy's group- that careless, reckless group- who did not give a shit about rules and precautions, they pretty much could take perfect care of themselves and if Nami definitely wanted to join, she would have to learn how to keep up. She had asked him if they hated the government which he replied against that. Explained that most people in the government wanted nothing but good but it was the very few people who abused their power were the ones to be wary of.

Luffy also resorted to train much more harder, for the sake of his dream and the protection of his friends but most of all, he wanted to secure his future at his wife's side; to enjoy the good times as well as the bad. In order to do that, he had to focus on becoming stronger.

On the bright side of things, he and Nami shared the romance of travelling and he could not wait till she was ready so that they could travel the world together, to share a dream. Just the thought of it had him on the brink of excitement.

l

l

l

Zoro cracked his good eye open noticing something completely amiss. His eye wondered around the beach then out at sea but still no luck.

"Oi." Everyone glanced up to look at the green-haired swordsman. "Where is that idiot couple?"

"Luffy said something about he and Nami going to race to the top of that cliff in the distance," Chopper said pouring the ice in the cooler. "Ah! There they are right now."

The crew all turned to see the captain effortlessly beating his wife to the top. Echoes of his victorious laughter could be heard. Nami in her rainbow two piece bath suit with a chain around her waist and Luffy was decked in almost matching swimming trunks.

'Fufufu' "Captain-san is as energetic as ever," said Robin sipping on the lemonade Sanji brought over for her.

"That bastard isn't even letting her win... Go Nami-san!" The cook waved his hands in the air and cheered.

Luffy reached the edge first and grinned smugly at his loser wife with hands resting mockingly at his hips.

"Wait- What is she doing? She's not stopping..." Usopp said and a roll of sweat ran down his head. "Oi, Nami!" he called out, "Be careful! That could be dan-" She ran up to Luffy and pushed him off the cliff. "-gerous..."

Everyone's jaws dropped when they heard Luffy's yell; then came the loud splash and then silence.

Meanwhile, Nami stood bent over, gathering her breath, hand on her knees, smirking at the spot Luffy dived into. That's what he got for cheating. 30 seconds passed and her smile fell.

Luffy suddenly burst through the water surface, spitting out whatever got into his lungs, struggling to stay afloat, crying out for help.

"That witch!" Zoro said after recovering from his shock then tossed his swords on the sand and got ready to swim after the captain but stopped waist deep when Nami dived in to make the rescue much to everyone's relief.

She swam quickly to the shore with Luffy in tow and called out to Chopper to come quick. He was out cold.

Chopper hurried over and pressed both his hands on Luffy's chest and pumped out the trapped water. Nami loomed over feeling absolutely terrible looking for signs of life on his face. Was then relieved when Luffy took a deep breath and coughed, draining in much needed oxygen.

The crew went back to whatever they were doing. This happened all the time but what happened a while ago was... unexpected.

Luffy sat up with a now dry cough and Nami helped rub his back.

"What was that for, Nami? I thought that I was going to die."

"I'm sorry. Very sorry, Luffy. That was stupid. I didn't know that you can't swim..." He spoke so fondly about the ocean that she just assumed. "I was so scared."

Luffy leaned into her, resting his forehead on her shoulder as his breathing calmed and Nami wrapped her arms around him. The presence of the hibiscus flower he picked for her was now lost in the water somewhere from behind her ear. She sighed but was glad that he was okay.

She turned to glare at Zoro who now sat at his previous spot glaring daggers back at her. She knew for sure that her ears did not fail her when he shouted the profanity aimed her way. He must have forgotten that he had a money tab and she would not hesitate to raise it.

Luffy released himself and ran a hand down his face.

"Are you okay now, L-"

"5 seconds."

"5 seconds? What are you talk-" Then she seized up when he rose his fingers and moved them in a tickle motion.

"I'll give you a 5 second head start."

"You're kidding. Maybe this time I'd actually kill you-"

"One..." Luffy drawled out.

"You cannot be serious."

"Two..." he grinned and Nami pounced on her feet and started running as fast as she could and Luffy soon tailed behind her.

There was fear in her eyes but GOda was not on her side that day and she lost her footing and fell on the course sand.

Luffy stopped in his tracks , blinked and burst out into loud laughter.

"Are you okay?" he asked after his belly hurt too much to continue.

Nami was pissed and took two hand fulls of sand and threw them at his face knocking him off his feet. She then dashed to the water and swam out to the middle of the bay. Luffy freed the sand from away his face and he looked to where she swam out and frowned.

"No fair, Nami!"

She turned around, pulled down her eyelid and stuck out her tongue at him before nonchalantly resuming her graceful swim.

"Oi Luffy!" he heard two voices yell and he turned to see Usopp and Chopper holding up the poles with fresh bait attached. "Let's go fishing!"

l

l

Luffy sat on a rock formation close to the seashore along with his two other friends, fishing poles already tossed in the water in hopes of scoring dinner. He stared distractedly out at the sea, envious and grumpy as Nami rode her scooter Franky upgraded to be run on water. She was too good at it and he was vex that he didn't know how to control the machine and she advised him that it would be best to stay near the shore while she had a blast. Luffy narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. She was such a big show-off.

"Cheer up, Luffy," said Usopp," It's her day. Let her enjoy herself."

"But I really wanted to try driving that thing~" Luffy whined back. "It's not fair."

Chopper chuckled and said to Usopp," Luffy's really lucky to have married Nami, huh?"

"He sure is." Usopp grinned, "But not as lucky as the time I found 1 billion dollars in cash, one idle day."

"Seriously? No way!" Chopper said with shining stars as eyes, "What did you do with all the money?"

'Heh Heh,' he laughed proudly sticking his long nose high in the air, "I did what any good Samaritan would do. I gave it all to charity."

"You're so cool, Usopp!"

"I know, I know." He happened to glance Luffy's way and saw that his line was pulling with force and the rod was about to be pulled out of his hands.

"Luffy! Stay focused- You caught something!"

The captain turned to stare blankly at the marksman. "I did?"

Suddenly, more line was fed into the water at a quick pace and Luffy grabbed the pole and worked on reeling in the big catch.

"I did!"

He couldn't wait to see the look on Nami's face when she feasts her eyes on his catch. It was gonna be rich!

 

Night fell. Tents were set up with their sleeping occupants, sports equipment packed, dishes and garbage were all set to go back, the fire was out and bathing suits were hung out to dry on a makeshift line.

Everything seemed so tranquil but you know we can't have a camp night without a little bit of 'disturbance.'

A grotesque, hairy, too large for its size, eight legged creature just happened to pass by the snoring tents and like any other curious insect, decided to stick around for some little, wild fun.

Fortunately for it, the ladies' tent wasn't completely closed up in hopes to let in some night air but not every idea was a good one.

While Robin was securely zipped nice and tight in her sleeping bag, Nami only had a futon as bedding. An unconscious mistake.

The creature crept under her sheets and brushed pass Nami's leg. Her eyes snapped open and an uncomfortable chill flew up her spine. She pulled away her covers and it strangely enough, winked at her and even waved three of its legs. She froze, sucked in her breath and screamed at the top of her lungs and called out her husband's name.

"Luffy!"

Zoro who was a short distance away on watch duty heard her scream and reached for his swords. All the guys woke up and ran out their tent.

"What's wrong!?" Luffy said. He didn't sense any real danger but he was still on guard. A click came from Usopp's pocket where his hand was concealed. Soon Zoro arrived on the scene.

They heard rustling coming form within the tent then Nami dashed out and hid behind Luffy. She tried waking up Robin but remembered that she put in ear plugs before falling asleep plus she was pretty safe to begin with.

"What is it, Nami-san?" Sanji asked stepping forward. Whatever was in that tent was now with the precious Robin-chan and how dare it scare Nami-san. He pulled up his shirt sleeves and approached the tent. "Whatever it is, I'll take care of it."

"A-A spider. Please hurry and get it out!" Nami said to no one in particular as she buried her face in the fabric of Luffy's shirt.

Sanji halted and his unlit cigarette fell from his mouth and his palms began to sweat.

"You were saying, curly cook?" Zoro said with a smirk as he leaned against the tree with folded arms. He knew more than anyone about his phobia of bugs. He had pulled countless pranks on the chef and his reactions were gold every time.

"Can it, Marimo."

Meanwhile, Usopp went ahead and got the spider out himself, held it in his palm and showed the group.

"This little guy?" he asked and Sanji and Nami hid behind a tree screaming out remarks to kill it.

"Woah! It's huge!" Luffy said and marvelled at how the spider took up the entirety of Usopp's palm. Zoro on the other hand was having a swell of a time making fun of the cook.

l

l

Now that the spider was long gone, everyone turned to their tents, all except Nami who sat in front the log by the burned out fire. Zoro had also retired since it as almost morning and needed sleep.

Luffy was the last one to climb in but but stopped once he looked over at her.

"Oi, Luffy. You coming?"

"I'm going to stay out here with Nami for some time," he said and Sanji tossed him a blanket.

"Thanks."

"Anytime."

Luffy draped the comforter over Nami's shoulders and sat besides her, noticing that she had succeeded in restarting the fire.

"Are you going to be staying out here for the rest of the night?"

"Maybe or at least until I'm sure that that spider didn't have a friend. I don't know yet."

"Usopp checked, It's safe but let's hang out for a while."

Her eyes lighted up. "Okay."

"What was your favourite part of today? You had a great time, right?"

"Yeah, I did and as for my favourite part, it has to be watching the sunset with you and the guys. What was yours?"

"When you fell and landed face down in the sand! That was really funny," he laughed.

Nami frowned and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Luffy asked. It was plain as day that he upset her but he didn't plan to."

"To bed." And she walked back to her tent but stood still and looked down rubbing her arm and she returned back to his side.

"I'm sorry that I acted like that. I honestly can't stand being mad at you, Luffy. I know that I could be short tempered at times. I'm not proud of that but thanks for putting up with me."

"I still love you. No matter what," Luffy said. Nami blushed and her lips curved upwards. Him saying that will never get old. She lifted his arm and snuggled up against him and he draped it along her shoulders.

Being married to Luffy made her want to be a better version of herself. Luffy would notice how frustrated she would get when on the very few occasions she would not get her maps done right. He would listen to her and he made her realize that it should not be a big deal if she didn't get it 100% right all the time. That seeking perfection was no way near possible but if that was her goal, she should do so with joy instead of getting stressed out at one minor mistake because where was the fun in that?

"You should love doing what you love." He had told her and ever since, Nami found pleasure in her mistakes. She now looked at them as a chance to do better and nowadays she have been enjoying cartography 10 times more than she did before.

"I have to say that I'm sorry too. I can be a hand full a lot of times so thanks for putting up with me too," Luffy said and leaned his head on top hers and she nodded still wearing that smile he gave her earlier.

He suddenly turned around behind him and said," Do you mind? I thought you guys said that you were going back to sleep?"

Some hushed gasps and whispers were heard and when Nami herself turned around she was greeted by the dangling zip of the now closed tent and then total silence.

Zoro was guilty for being a part of the staring-group. He was against it but the group didn't bother to listen to him and he decided to join the fun. What he saw and heard taking place made him see how much those two respected each other.

"Those guys..." Nami said, shook her head, threw the blanket around Luffy's shoulders and resumed back into her husband's warm embrace.

Luffy did not run his mouth off to his friends concerning his marriage affairs since Nami did not like that plus he understood that some things were best kept private. He liked the idea of privacy. His and Nami's moments together were theirs. No one else's.

Luffy thought about his love for the person he married. He noted that they did not argue as much anymore. That was the result of simply sharing their problems. It was a struggle to allow resentment to take root in their hearts. If they ever did fight, it never got out of hand and it was only petty ones. But at the end of the day, they both chose love for love was the strongest emotion of them all. Arguments nowadays seemed more like discussions. If something upset either one of them, they made each other know. Nothing was bottled up or held in secret. And if it was something that neither of them could agree on, they would compromise. Why? Because their relationship mattered most.

To Luffy, love was the greatest mystery. He does not recall when he started loving his wife; maybe it was the morning he woke up and the first thing on his mind like always was not food. It was Nami.

She infiltrated his mind, his thoughts. And it had reached a point where he would easily disregard everything for her and strive for her happiness but she wouldn't let him.

When he was away from her side, instead of being lonely, Nami always had something to do. Be it going out with friends, her small trips to town, taking care of herself, or remaining curious by furthering her knowledge on her trades in her spare time, Nami was far from being lonely. She was her own person and she knew how to maintain her personal happiness.

As a result, he was encouraged to do the same. Usopp was wrong when he said that he feared that he being married would have meant not getting a chance to hang out with the gang anymore but honestly, nothing really changed. Luffy liked that.

Together, he and Nami had not only made a great team, together they made a family. A fact that they both valued.

Despite Nami being busy, most of her time was willingly used to spend with him. And Luffy took pride in knowing that he was Nami's favourite part of each passing day.

Nami was super smart and she would share her intellect with him, always feeding his curiosity. And if he did not understand it the first time, she would level it down in a way that he could. She had also inspired him. It was a known fact that he disliked reading and she would borrow books from the library and read them to him or tell him about the awesome escapades of charming fictional characters. The way she would talk so enthusiastically about them made him want to experience those worlds for himself. Talking about each other's takes on the different stories was the best.

Similar to how they would share their recollections of how their day was spent and both would agree that nothing was better compared to being in each other's company. They loved each other that much.

He liked when they would sit on the couch watching television or silently indulged in their own entertainments, how their shoulders would always be touching. Or when he would become sleepy during a movie and she would take his head, rest it in her warm lap and run her fingers through his hair till he fell asleep. He freaking loved that! Or whenever they would go on walks and he would reach for her hand and her hand would reach for his at the same time.

He liked tickling her mostly when he just at the spur of the moment, wanted to see her smile and hear a marathon of her musical laughter. And although she absolutely hated being tickled, he didn't care cause nothing could beat her cute little squeals and her fits of laughter, leaving her breathless. He would get a good beating afterwards but it was worth it.

He liked her cooking, her big hugs and the nice feel of her slow, long kisses. He liked it when she smiled against his lips and the mellow sounds of her moans whenever he deepened the lip-lock.

What he loved most about her was how spontaneous she was.

He liked catching her staring with her head titled in her palm of her hand, eyes hooded and with a gentle smile playing on her lips. Then she would flash her teeth and look away. When she did that, he had to hold back every muscle in his body from hugging the daylights out of her. She was downright too cute. Almost as cute when she would unexpectedly fall asleep in his arms or that cute way she would slowly open her eyes followed by a smile whenever he pecked her forehead.

 

Nami rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Maybe I should head back now."

"You can stay out here and sleep."

"But what about, you know, the spiders and whatever else the great outdoors has to offer?"

"I'll protect you," he said and those few words were all Nami needed to hear.

To be continued.......


	20. Chapter 20

"Anyone that truly cares about you will never put you last on their list. That person will find time for you. That person will tell you, show you, and prove the love they have for you everyday you are a part of their life."- Mustafa Alam

 

During an afternoon cleaning day, Nami found some envelopes tucked in the very side of the couch and with interest,she rest down her duster and flipped through them absentmindedly.

"Luffy? When did these mail come in?"

Luffy turned around with the broom in his hand and after recognizing the envelopes, says, "A while."

Nami came across the letter for the Cartography Competition and she worked on opening it. She had been waiting what seemed like forever on it for they mentioned that they were going to distribute the date of the judging as well as other details via letter format and to think that it was busy hiding away between the couch.

"Maybe Sabo put them there cause I can remember just resting them on the couch before he visited."

Sabo decided to invite himself into their house 2 weeks ago, eating their food, watching their TV and sitting on their couch and he most likely stuffed the envelopes out of his way to make himself even more comfortable.

She knew who he was. Had heard stories but did not at the time know exactly what he looked like so when she went ahead of Luffy with a few bags of groceries, she saw him turning around with his feet up on the couch with a mouth full of food and he had the nerve to muffle to her: "Hey, sis."

She freaked out- had all right to- and quickly grabbed the nearest object next to her and assaulted the intruder but stopped when Luffy rushed up and told her that the intruder just happened to be his brother. Luffy had his fill of laughter that day and she received and ear full of apologies that day from Sabo. All in all, he was a chill guy even though he had a weird brother complex.

She checked the venue and as her eyes skimmed through, she gasped. The judging was today.

"Luffy."

"What's up?"

"We have only 3 hours left to reach Loguetown Hall in time. Hurry up and get changed. We have to leave now."

"Now? Is the award ceremony today?"

"Yes it is," she said standing up and hurried to her room to prepare. "Get dressed now. We can't be late."

"Nami."

"Hm?" she responded reopening her door now standing in her bra and shorts unbuttoned. All she had to do was slip something on real quick.

"Today's the day, huh?" he said with a reassuring smile.

"Yeah." And she grinned wide, brimming with excitement. Today is the day.

 

They arrived at Loguetown Hall a half an hour late because of traffic. Luffy could tell how on edge she was. She held his hand the entire ride. They made it in time for the nominations which was what Nami was hoping for. To be honest, the other segments of the ceremony were just a complete waste of time.

It was nothing like Luffy expected. The parking lots were packed and news stations with their flashing cameras were present please for the event. Nami said that the contest was international, in other words, a very big deal and it would take only the best of the best to take home gold. The atmosphere was stiff with anticipation but he had total faith in his wife. There were no 'if's' or maybe's'.

They both entered the doors and were greeted by a crowded room of people and they were quiet as can be while the judge called out the rest of the winners. Some reporters who saw them come in, instantly turned on their cameras and snapped pictures of Nami; The locally, well known, young and promising cartographer who came on the scene 6 years ago, successfully putting herself on the map.

Luffy looked over at her checking for any signs of discomfort but she remained unfazed like she was used to it. What she was more interested in was sorting out her reserved seat in the front row. In these moments, Nami's confidence shined through and Luffy could not help but marvel at how amazing his wife was.

The announcer cleared his throat:

"Now folks, the moment you've all been waiting for. Who this evening will be taking home the title that would be put down in international history? We would like to thank every one of our participants who took part in this year's contest.

Cartography is a dying trade but you fine ladies and gentlemen have strived to keep it ignited and in turn will be an inspiration for the future generations to come. Each and every one of you has displayed impeccable skill and craftsmanship when it came to drawing this particular map but there could only be one winner.

I had the opportunity of viewing the winning piece and I must say that our winner has shown their own personal style, careful precision and we couldn't have chosen a better winner for this position. One who wanted to leave an everlasting mark in the cartography world.

Ladies and gentlemen, our winner is... Monkey D. Nami! Come on up here and claim your prize. Congratulations!"

The crowd clapped and cheered; Luffy's heart swelled and he could not wipe the huge grin off his face.

"Oi, Nami. Don't just stand there. Go get your prize," he said staring at her back. She was frozen in place. She suddenly spun around on her feet and faced him. Frantic as ever."

"Oh my god, Luffy. I can't believe it! Do I look okay?" She said, patting at her hair and straightening out her dress.

He held her face in his hands and silenced her worries with a kiss then placed his straw hat atop her head. She calmed down instantly and Luffy had her full attention.

"It's not a dream. You did it like I knew you would and I'm so proud of you. By the way," he says combing her bangs behind her ear, "Don't worry about a thing. You look gorgeous."

Nami took a deep breath,put on her battle face, nodded firmly and took her walk up to the stage, followed by a second round of applause.

On stage, she was given a bouquet of roses and a ribbon was placed over her dress representing her winning place and she stood next to the announcer at the podium and smiled when Luffy gave her a thumbs up.

"Congratulations, once again, Nami-san," said the announcer holding up his mike," We judges all had to agree that your map stood out vastly among the rest. Such careful precision! Surely you must have had a whale of encouragement to help you along the way. Who would you like to thank?" He stepped back and Nami took his place.

"Where do I start? First of all, thank you for this grand opportunity which will enable me to be closer than ever to my dream.

I have many to thank; both my parents, my friends but above all," she said touching the rough straw of the hat,"I'd like to thank my husband, Luffy. My captain, friend, my number 1, my everything, my greatest support. Me standing here today would not be possible without his constant, free spirited guidance. Marrying him was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life."

Luffy snickered and rubbed the back of his neck. She was really throwing him off-guard with all the praise.

"Everyday I always wonder how I got so lucky to deserve you, Luffy. And you know what? It doesn't end here. I'll work even harder to make you proud," she said finally with conviction clear as day in her voice. Then she bowed and the ceremony came to a close.

Two other judges came out with a large signed check which made Nami's eyes glitter with dollar signs. She then looked back in front and dressed away when a tirade of reporters came cramming up the stage calling out to her.

"Nami-san, how does it feel to be a winner?" "What are your plans for the future? Have they changed since you got married? Any big projects in mind?" "You were a self-taught cartographer. Did you have the help of any tutors?" "Can you tell us about your outfit?" "Besides your husband, what else helped you improve in such a small space of time?"

Nami could only stare at their faces and she ignored them for a second to see if she could still see Luffy but he was hidden from her view by the guys with big expensive cameras flashing annoyingly at her.

She had a hitch that they were doubting her skills and she wondered what the hell that reporter meant by "Besides your husband." As if she should completely overlook Luffy like if he was a trivial matter.

She never liked the media. Never had and never will.

Nami pushed past them and tossed the bouquet at the sexist reporter who asked about her outfit. He too was equally annoying.

"Nami-san, what about your prize money?" The conductor called out to her.

"Send it to me when you get the chance," she said without turning around or batting an eye.

She spotted Luffy standing by the door with a hand over his eyes in hopes to seek her out of the already moving crowd and she ran to him.

She did not want tonight to be all about her...

When he saw her approaching, she slowed to a walk and she replaced the straw hat back to its rightful owner and finally entered into his awaiting arms.

"Good job, Nami. You deserve it."

"Thank you."

"Are you done already? That was fast. Let's call your parents and celebrate," he said taking his phone out and already punching in their number.

"No, Luffy."

His thumb hovered over the call key and he knotted his eyebrows. "What do you mean by no?"

Her mouth flattened and she bit her bottom lip and looked down avoiding his gaze feeling uneasy as her heart thumped against her chest.

Luffy frowned at that and his eyes swept over the crowd which was engaged in loud conversation and some were leaving, brushing pass them and few even gave their congrats to Nami but she was not paying attention.

Then his eyes landed back on her; he took her hand and lead her out to the parking lot which was thankfully less congested.

He stood and took her other hand, giving both a light squeeze and succeeded in getting her to look at him again as he spoke soothingly.

"Are you feeling okay? Sick maybe? I can tell that something's wrong but I can't help you unless you tell me."

Nami's face relaxed and she smiled a little bit unsure before shaking her head and went forward and kissed him. Luffy's eyes opened wide and he blinked questionably at her strange behavior.

"I don't want to be here anymore and I don't want to go anywhere tonight. I just want to be with you, Luffy."

He extended his arms and brought her close to him and Nami hugged him laying her head flat against his shoulder. He stared at the cobble stone feeling his own heart begin to speed up. There was something unusual in the way she looked at him even in the tone of her voice.

She slid her eyes shut. Day by day she had done her utmost to express her love for her husband, the one who made her feel special in a multitude of ways but for a while now she wanted to communicate her adoration for him in a whole new distinct way.

"Let's make love tonight."

She didn't want tonight to be all about her... She wanted it to be all about them.

 

 

Nami closed the door behind her and by her appearance she had discarded her jacket, shoes and her hairpins and she was greeted by Luffy who sat with his knees drawn to his chest, leaning against the headboard. He smiled at her with innocent eyes.

"Hey," he said and her lips curled upwards.

"Hey."

"Now thinking about it, this is a pretty neat room," he said watching Nami walk over to the bed and extend her knee to begin her crawl over to him.

"You think so?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Yeah. It's a good thing we decided not to change it into a storage room. You've done a great job decorating it and keeping it clean, Nami."

She stared down at his lips and looked back into his eyes. "Thanks," she said in a soft voice then she claimed them. She tilted her head as he returned the kiss and leaned back taking him with her but as sexy as she thought that was, it ended up being a bad idea.

Luffy who struggled to get his bearings suddenly jammed his knee in her leg and Nami made a noise and grimaced.

"What the hell, Luffy? That really hurt."

"Sorry."

She narrowed her eyes at him and flicked his forehead hard and to Nami, revenge was never this sweet as she watched him hold his forehead and cry out in pain.

"Ouch, Nami! What's your problem? I said that I was sorry."

She laid flat on her back while he loomed over her and they glared deeply annoyed at each other for a good 5 seconds then Nami cracked a smile and before you know it, they broke out in a fit of giggles.

When they quieted down, Nami opened her eyes to Luffy used his fingers to wipe away her tears. The she lifted her head to place her lips on his and placed both her hands on his shoulders to encourage him closer.

And so began their little conversation between kisses.

"Did we remember to put in the last batch of clothes in the dryer before we left?" she asked.

It was laundry day and piles of sorted laundry to be folded laid scattered on both their beds. Who knew guest rooms could come in so handy?

"No. We totally forgot."

"That's too bad then."

"Yeah. Too bad."

"Do you have the thing?"

"Yeah." A small square package was secured in his left pocket.

Her fingers dug into his hair and his palm curved around the side of her face. A million thoughts ran through Nami's head and her eyebrows knitted when she came to her senses and she used her free hand to push lightly on his chest.

"Wait Luffy."

"Hm?"

"Are you sure that you want to do this?"

One thing she did not want was for them to get ahead of themselves and then to regret the experience all together in the end.

"It's what you want, right?"

"Yes. It's what I want." Her eyes widened and her cheeks heated up and at that moment she wished she had a gun close-by to shoot herself. She sounded like such a needy bitch.

"I want this for both of us but is this what you want, Luffy?"

"What I want?"

"Yes." And she scanned his face for traces of doubt but there was not a single grain.

"Yeah. This is what I want."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"You sure you don't want to think about it for a while longer. You sure?"

"Uhuh."

"You sure?

"Yeah."

"Sure you don't want 5 more minutes? How about 10?"

"No."

She blinked and tilted her head. "Is that a yes no? Or a no yes?"

Luffy scratched his head and laughed," You're so funny, Nami. I mean yes as in now. You and me... Hey. You know something? Your face is super red right now."

"Really? You should see yours."

'Shishishishi'

"Luffy?"

"Hm?"

"What are you waiting for? Kiss me."

He did but on her cheek and Nami frowned and whined a bit," No. Not there, not there," she says barely above a whisper, moving her head to the side trying to meet his lips but sucked in her breath as her entire body shuddered as he trailed wet kisses all the way down the length of her neck. Her lips parted and the hand she had laying casually on his back, fisted a handful of his shirt.

It was not the first time he kissed her there. Whenever he tried in the past, she would always stop him saying that she was ticklish but now she knew for sure that Luffy saw pass her little white lie.

She inhaled and exhaled slowly, almost forgetting how to breathe when she thought she heard him mumble something. Her senses were clouding over with each passing second. A surreal feeling.

"Did you say something, Luffy?"

"This dress you're wearing, it's nice."

And she shuddered again when his teeth grazed her collar bone.

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah."

It was a thin strapped body-con dress. Red. His favourite colour. Even though she liked to dress for herself most of the times, it did not hurt to dress up solely for him. He had always liked it when she wore red. Said it looked great with her hair.

She felt her strap loose at her shoulder as he retraced his mouth back up to her lips.

"I'll take care of you," he whispered. And he did.

 

 

Morning came and Nami woke to the sound of Luffy's snoring. She had one arm flung over his neck; cheek pressed up against him as she listened to the steady pitter patter of his heart and she closed her eyes and smiled. Luffy was right. This was not a dream. Here he laid next to her, as real as can be and he was all hers and she, all his.

The thought of love could be scary sometimes. Giving someone a free pass to your fragile heart; the power to build you up as well as to destroy you. Love was both an amazing and dangerous thing. Nami had not just granted him her heart, she gave him her entire being because he deserved it.

Last night was the first time she implied the act of marital relations with Luffy. He was never shy to the idea of touching her. He touched her all the time. But she had to admit that lately, she had wanted to be touched by him in a different way. Only then, she did not realize how much built up passion she had for him; How much she hungered for the one who captivated her heart and treated it as if it were his.

She now laid on her back blowing a frazzled, messy lock of hair out her eyes then cringed when she felt something stabbing at her shoulder blades and reached behind her to find a button. She looked around and found that more were scattered across the bed and she blushed. She had really liked that shirt and the memory of her impatient fingers ripping open Luffy's button-down with such force was not helping. She even startled her own self.

Her eyes comically then gained sight of a black, lacy thong dangling on the corner of the headboard. Yeah. You read that right. A thong. Hers to be exact. And her hands covered her face in shame for being caught.

She was no way close to being a prude. She changed in front of Luffy loads of times plus when asked he said that it didn't bother him- but last night when her dress and bra were already discarded in a pile on the floor, Luffy stared confused at her knickers and that's when it struck her what her chosen apparel for the night was.

Now we know that what happened last night between the sheets was not planned. If she did, she definitely would not have worn that thing; for when Luffy slipped them off, he held them up for the world to see before throwing back his head with loud laughter. Embarrassed like never before, she tried to explain the concept about panty lines and tight dresses but the half-ass excuse only made him laugh even louder.

Truth be told that she actually took Robin's advice and returned to the store at a later date and bought one just to try it . The first time she wore one, she was more than pleased. It looked great, felt great- the most comfortable pair of undies she had ever owned and it made her feel so in charge, so womanly. Nami was so impressed that she went ahead and splurged on a few more pairs and now her secret was out and Luffy now thought that she was being funny like she knew he would.

Before she could yell at him to shut up, he humbled himself to a small extent and began stretching them out obviously fascinated at the newfound scanty material and when she was just about to protest about how expensive it was, he slingshot it and now there it was hanging from its string; mocking her in its lacy glory.

'So this is what betrayal feels like..." she thought, leering at the knickers like it was the most normal thing in the world to be angry at a piece of fabric.

She paid better attention to her surroundings and noticed that the snoring that kept her company was gone; when she moved her head, she came face to face with Luffy and his hooded, tired eyes.

Nami's hazel ones grew wide with each passing second and she fled, expertly hiding her face against his shoulder. Soon he turned and she felt him kiss her hair; without skipping a beat, she rose her chin towards his lips.

She stopped when his mouth formed into a contagious grin and he chirped out a "Good Morning" to her and she did the same.

Luffy all of a sudden yawned a big yawn and ran a hand down his face and blinked into space, staring at nothing in particular. He refocused when Nami waved a hand out in front of her and she asked," Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay. I'm just really sleepy and for some strange reason my back hurts."

"Your back?" said Nami and she got up to check for herself and her eyebrows rose at the red parallel lines that decorated it.

She diverted her eyes the other way and patted his shoulder. "It's fine. Nothing to worry about." A mental note was made to trim her nails later.

"Okay."

He prodded himself up on his elbows and curious, Nami asked,"Going somewhere? Bathroom?"

"Nope. I'm going to a special place."

"Kitchen?"

"Nope. Guess again. It's my very favourite place in the whole world."

"You're not making any sense," she said getting annoyed. She never liked his guessing games. The answer was hard to come by and she was never able to guess right.

Luffy rested his head on the softness of her breasts and sighed preparing to fall asleep again.

"You're pretty bad when it comes to this game, Nami. I even gave you clues."

"You idiot," she said but her tone lacked bitterness as she playfully rolled her eyes and her face sported a large smile. She placed her hands on his back with the intention of hugging him but retracted them when Luffy gritted his teeth.

"Sorry," she said and resorted to comb her fingers through his raven hair instead. She winced herself while she adjusted her pelvis more comfortably. Luffy was not the only one in pain at this point.

'Shishishi'

"I love you, Luffy."

"I know," he snickered again and hummed in response. Nami's head rubs were the best.

Her cheeks heat up in remembrance. Exactly how many times did she tell him that last night? It was a perfect time to change the subject.

"Remind me to put something on your back later."

"Thought you said that it was fine."

"It is... just remind me, okay?"

"Okay."

"And maybe we can schedule a picnic with my parents soon. Sounds good?"

"Yeah. Let's make lots of food..." Luffy said before dozing off to sleep.

Nami thought about a good time to contact her parents. She sweat-dropped. Sooner or later, they would find out about her achievement and now she had to come up with a good excuse to explain why she took her sweet time to tell them. But she would have to think about that later. She dipped her head downwards and kissed Luffy's head. As for now, she wanted to cherish the moment.

To be continued...


	21. Chapter 21

"A strong marriage rarely has two strong people at the same time. It is a husband and wife who take turns being strong for each other in the moments when the other feels weak."- Ashley Willis

 

Hatchan, a heavy built man whose most prominent features were his protruding lips and pointy, spiky white hair, stood perched behind a corner with a camera in hand stalking out the assigned target.

'Nyuuu~' he sighed. He did not want to do this. It was not right. Hatchan did not agree with some of the things his company did but his boss was a dangerous man.

He looked to the apartment entrance, picked up his binoculars and saw the target walking in but Hatchan was confused since she was always escorted at this time at night by her husband. He grabbed a book and made a note, checking his watch.

He then felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to be met by a fist to the face and his head hit the wall, pounding in severe agony. His vision was distort and he collapsed. Just when he was about to lose consciousness, the last thing he saw was a pair of sandaled feet.

 

Hatchan awoke in a strange room and shied away from the bright light. The pain in his head went away a bit. He heard the click of a gun frighteningly close to his ears and immediately tensed up and his pupils shrank in fear. His eyes moved to the side and came in contact with a huge barrel of a gun and the wielder regarded him with the most menacing look he could muster up but if you looked close, you could catch the slight but obvious wobble of his legs.

Hatchi screamed and tried to scramble away but he was secured with rope to a chair. Hands and legs were banded so tightly, he couldn't move a muscle.

Chopper and Brook were seated at the table and Usopp told the young doctor to inform the rest of the group that their guest was now wide awake. Hactchan saw Chopper leave the room and his eyes fell on a skeleton-like old man sipping away at some kind of beverage.

'Yohohoho,' "A pleasant day to you, sir. Care for some tea?"

"Who are you people? Where is this place? What do you want from me?"

His mouth stitched up when the gun pressed against the side of his skull and a chill crept up his spine.

"Be quiet. We would like to know the same thing too. Who are you? And what business do you have with our captain's wife? Speak or else I'll-"

Usopp was rendered silent when the door slammed open and in came Luffy, hat shielding his eyes and behind him, the rest of the guys piled in; Franky, Chopper, Zoro, Sanji and Robin with his bag, camera and journals which contained all the information he had documented for weeks on Monkey D. Nami. Everything down to her schedules and routines and Hatchan began sweating bullets for he had been caught red-handed. The tension in the room was suffocating. All eyes were on him. The figure he recognized was that of the target's husband and Hatchan knew that he had stepped into an ants' nest.

Luffy observed him under the shadow of his strawhat. Just tonight, Nami said that for a while it felt like someone was following her, watching her every move but brushed it off saying that it was not a big deal. He had only wished that she would have told him sooner because when he checked after sensing a presence himself, he came upon this prick.

"Mr. Hatchan, is it?" Robin began.

"Hai?"

"We found some interesting things in your possession concerning a close friend of ours. Too detailed to be a stalker. Who do you work for?"

Hatchan gulped hard. "What things? Are you sure that they're mine? Maybe you have the wrong person."

He was scared but his boss would not forgive him if he sold him out. If he was clever enough, maybe he could easily get out of this situation.

"Cut the crap," said Luffy in a deep voice and he slowly walked over to Hatchan cracking his knuckles. The sound made Hatchan's stomach churn and one look at Luffy's face made him realize that he was in deeper shit than he bargained for.

Usopp lowered his weapon and stepped to the side; and like the others, he stood and watched. Whoever this creep was, better start talking.

'Nyuu~' "Y-You have the wro-" His shoulders shook in fear when another crack echoed in the silence of the room and his blood went cold.

"Please don't kill me!"

Luffy chuckled and took on a sadistic grin and the veins above his brows, showed.

"Oh? I see that you value your life. That's good. That's great. Don't worry- I won't kill you."

"You won't? Thank G-" Hatchan's words caught in his throat and he sank deep in his chair when he saw Luffy's frown and the rising of his clenched fists before charging at him.

"How does breaking every single bone in your body sound?!" Luffy shouted and Hatchan was sure that his life flashed before his eyes just when Luffy's balled up fist stopped mere centimeters from his face. He gasped and clamped his eyes shut but the impact never came. He looked to see his attacker being held back by a guy with moss green hair and a guy smoking a cigarette. He was saved. Or was he?

The captain struggled against them. "What are you doing? Let go of me! Now!"

"Luffy," Zoro said," I know that you have right reasons to be mad right now-"

"Damn straight!"

"You need to calm down, Luffy," said Sanji.

"To hell with calming down! Let go of me, dammit!"

 

Zoro and Sanji were having a hard time holding him down so Zoro nodded to Franky and the inventor opened the door and together, the swordsman and the cook dragged the angry ball of energy out the room and into the aquarium space.

Luffy settled down some and upon entering the room, broke free, took a few steps forward and sank to the floor, tugging at his hair in frustration and looked up to his friends with a deep frown.

"Why did you stop me?"

Zoro folded his arms and spoke first,"You are our captain, Luffy."

"What does that have to do with this?"

"The others were looking on," the swordsman pressed and Luffy's face softened. He understood.

"I apologize. It's just that... Nami. What if...?"

"What if we had left on our mission and they got a chance to take her away without your knowledge? That's what you're thinking, right?" Sanji said.

Luffy nodded and he leaned forward with a hand covering his face and his voice cracked as he spoke," I don't want to lose her. I don't want to lose anyone else that I care about. And now some bastard wants to take her away. Just thinking about it, I don't think that I'd ever forgive myself."

Zoro and Sanji exchanged looks.

"Where's Nami-san now, Luffy?"

"She's home."

"And she's safe and sound, right?"

"Right."

"Therefore, there's nothing to fuss about. And we'll help you keep it that way. All we need to do is for that shitty bastard to tell us who his boss is and all we have to do is change his mind."

"And if anything were to happen to Nami," Zoro began," We know that she wouldn't let anything happen to her without a fight. That wife of yours is a tough gal. And whatever happens, she'll trust you to save her from anything. We'll help too. We're comrades."

The dark cloud that shrouded over Luffy's head disappeared into thin air and Luffy blinked up at them. His friends were the best any man could ask for.

He skinned his teeth. "Thanks guys. That made me feel better. Both of you are right."

The two smiled at him.

"You need to have more faith in us, captain."

"I hate to say this but the marimo is right."

"Wanna say that again, Swirly cook? I dare ya," Zoro scowled, fingers inching for his blades and Luffy laughed. Just when he thought he was witnessing the rare moment of them getting along. Some things never changed.

A knock came on the door and Robin opened up along with the rest of the crew and they were glad to see their captain in high spirits again.

"Are you okay now, Luffy?" Chopper asked.

"Yeah. Couldn't be better."

Robin cleared her throat. She had something to announce. "Now that we are all here, I'd like you to know that as soon as you guys left, our little guest didn't hesitate to spill the beans. A smart man he turned out to be," she mused and she locked eyes with Luffy," The name of his boss is Arlong. President of 'Arlong and Company.' An architecture business that's well off."

Luffy stood with knotted brows,"What does he want with Nami?'

 

Yeah. What does Arlong want with Nami? Good question, Luffy.

Well you see, as mentioned before, he ran a successful architecture firm. His company needed someone with verse geographical and cartography skills to help with plot choices since according to the areas they have built on before, resulted in too many disasters and failures which meant a substantial loss of funds.

During the search for a suitable candidate, they discovered Nami a little bit over a year ago. An outstanding prospective employee and though he sent letters promising a hard-to-resist salary, she ignored each one. It had been rumoured that she strictly worked for herself- a fact that did not matter to him. Every passing second, he was losing precious money. And a loss of money meant a loss of power.

Kidnapping her was an exploitation of human rights. And yes, it was unethical. Taking someone by force was not something that would run through the mind of a sane human being but the last time he checked, he was far more superior than mere humans. In fact, he had a gold toilet at home and he had ordered new silver spoons which should be arriving tomorrow. It better since he paid extra for one day shipping. Life was good but he was getting off topic...

That's right. First, they'll kidnap her, isolate her from civilization for a while, threaten her; you know: scare her a little. Let her know that she belonged to him. Sure she could have whatever it was she wanted. He understood that women were needy creatures.

He gave her the opportunity to work to the point where she could retire in a month but unfortunately, now she would have to work for him for free. If she resisted, he had his ways.

Now who were the people she was closest to? That childhood friend of hers who lived a couple of countries away? Nah. A waste of money. What about her adopted parents? Sources said that she was closest to her mother and if his memory served him right, Bellemere was her name. But he had a better idea.

The day of the award ceremony, he was there seated in the audience. Although he despised being among the lowlifes, his initial aim was to seek out a different cartographer to take the job. It was an international competition so the winner could only be the best of the best and that's how he liked it. Anything less than that was not worth his time. And as if it was a stroke of luck, the winner, the best of the best, turned out to be her.

But what he was getting at was what she said. Who it was that she acknowledged the most. Who she called her everything, her number 1. How pathetic. How could this woman of such prestige rather settle down and become some pitiful housewife than work for his company? He felt sorry for her. Just like he would feel sorry for her when he threatens her with the safety of her husband's life. It will work. His plan was perfect.

She will eventually cooperate because, who wouldn't do anything for their 'everything'? To be honest, he comprehended this concept. For years, he was guilty for doing anything for money. His main source of power; his everything. And this time around, he didn't mind getting his hands dirty one more time. And he would not feel an ounce of regret. It was simple. He gave her an opportunity of a lifetime. She ignored it. Therefore, her impending fate would be all her fault.

Though he only wanted Nami for her talent, he will do her a favour and treat her as a respected subordinate of his and will do whatever it took to have her on his team.

He did not have to worry about the police, nor the government. He had bribed a certain department and Sergeant Nezumi did a fantastic job keeping his activities on the low.

Arlong always deemed himself as an astoundingly smart man. He made sure he did his homework on those relatively close to Nami. Namely her husband. Junior manger of Monkey D. Corp, a banana company. The irony was rich. In other words, no one important.

He unknowingly made a mistake. A huge one and boy, was he in for a ride.

 

Luffy listened intently to each word as Robin spoke of Hatchan's confession about the plan to kidnap his wife. His blood boiled but he kept his cool.

"Turns out that this 'Arlong' character has quite the history," said the archaeologist.

Franky intervened," What are we going to do?"

"Your move, captain," Zoro said and everyone agreed.

Luffy placed both hands on his hips and looked at each member of his crew and flashed a conniving grin.

"I have a plan."

 

That same night, Arlong and his friends were having a meeting to perfect their upcoming motive. He had to excuse himself since he got a strange call from his office from Chew, his secretary, saying that his half-sister was on the phone to him. They weren't on good terms and haven't spoken for years but when he arrived, there was no sign of the secretary nor was there anyone waiting for him on the phone and he left the office with his nose flared; angered by the unnecessary disturbance.

Little did he know that Chew laid unconscious under his desk and a tall figure with an afro stepped out of the coat closet as soon as the door slammed shut, sipping on his freshly poured tea. It was a shame, he was hoping to meet a female secretary but was utterly disappointed.

He pulled out his phone and when the person on the other side of the line picked up, he said:

"He's on his way."

Arlong turned the knob of the meeting room and he stiffened at the gruesome sight of his fallen, bloodied brethren. He knelt over Shioyake and was relieved to see that he was still breathing. The same could be said about the rest of them- Take, Pisaro, Kaneshiro and Hirobi- but they were all beaten to a pulp.

The president was consumed by rage. What on earth happened here?

Shioyake coughed and cracked open his eyes. "Arlong-san *cough* *cough*. Boss, is that you?"

"Yes, Shioyake. Who did this to all of you? Tell me! I'll hunt them down and I'll kill them!"

"No boss. These guys are demons. Save yourself, boss. Run."

"What do you mean? Shioyake stay with me!"

"Run..." And he passed out.

He took off his tie and wrapped it around his friend's wound that looked like it had been gashed with the back of a sword. Whoever did this was going to pay.

He happened to glance up and his eyes widened at a strawhat wearing man who sat seated at the table just staring back at him, leaning back with his arms behind his head , sandaled feet folded on the expensive table he paid good money for. He did not even notice the bloke when he walked in.

"So you're Arlong," he said standing up and flexed his arms.

"You..." Arlong seethed.

"Nice nose," said the strawhat wearer. Oh how he was going to enjoy breaking it.

"Did you do all this?" Arlong asked. His teeth began to hurt from the gnashing.

"Nope. But you're gonna love what I'm about to do to you," the stranger said cracking his neck.

"Who the hell are you?"

Arlong received a challenging glare.

"Does Monkey D. Luffy, ring a bell?"

The president's eyes opened wide and with haste, pulled out a gun from his back pocket but before he could use it, it was suddenly shot right out of his hand. Arlong cried out in pain, holding his almost sprained wrist. His eyes picked out the figure of a long-nosed guy with curly hair, behind a door for a split second and he watched it quickly close back. His gun was flung to the far side of the room and he had to do something fast because the Monkey Bastard was getting closer.

 

"Sheesh. Did you guys see the size of that guy?" Usopp said putting his pistol away. "I think he looked at me square in the eyes. I nearly crapped my pants." He turned to see Chopper staring at him. "But he looked weak. If Luffy allowed it, I could have defeated all these thugs on my own. A piece of cake," he said rubbing under his nose in a hero's stance.

"So cool, Ussopp!" The young doctor cried. Usopp was fearless.

"Now where was I?" the marksman said pulling out his seat," Do you have any Kings, Zoro?" he asked and picked up his cards. Franky, Sanji and Chopper were also playing while Robin sat reading an ancient history book.

"Go Fish. My turn. Oi cook. Do you have any Queens?"

"You damn marimo. How dare you take away my mellorines?"

The crew sweat-dropped. Sanji always had Queens when they played this game. Though it was a well known fact, the crew sometimes went easy on him but Zoro never showed mercy.

"Just cough them over. It's not my fault you're so shit at this game."

Sanji grumbled and tossed the ladies over at him. "You know," he said blowing out a trail of smoke. "That guy's putting up quite a fight."

In the background, the sound of hand to hand combat could be heard as well as the occasional battle cries. Sanji was impressed.

"It'll be over soon," Zoro said nonchalant while yawning. He shuffled through his cards thinking about which card he should ask for next.

"You're probably right... Hurry it up. You're slowing down the game!" said the cook then he paused when he heard silence. "Robin-chan, you're up next."

The archaeologist nodded, closed her literature and got up to join her captain.

Arlong laid battered and wheezing on the cold, marble floor. Everything hurt. Even in places he did not think was possible. His mind ran on nothing more than sweet revenge.

"Damn you! Don't think that this is the last time you'll hear from me. I will have my revenge!"

Luffy stood unfazed above the scum, thoroughly satisfied. Then Arlong saw a woman walk in with a clipboard in her hand.

"Robin. How soon will Smoky get here?"

"In the next 20 minutes or so but he said that he does not want to see you by the time he arrives."

'Shishishi' "Right, right."

"Who?" Arlong asked.

"Lieutenant Smoker," said Robin, refreshing his memory," Unfortunately, you're under arrest. I did some research on your company and it's a surprise that its been able to run for so many years. You're a criminal."

"So what? You don't have any proof!"

"Oh yes we do. And don't worry about your partner, Nezumi. He too will be going behind bars."

Arlong could only close his eyes in defeat. All those years it took to build his empire. All that effort: gone. He had barked up the wrong tree. Just who the hell were these people?

l

l

l

l

l

The night before Luffy's departure came and Luffy and Nami laid in bed facing each other. Nami stared amused at her significant other as he fought hard to keep his heavy eyelids open.

"Luffy... go to sleep. You have a flight tomorrow."

It was 11:00 pm and his flight was scheduled for 5:00 in the morning. Luffy was doing everything to stay awake.

"No. I'm not tired. You first."

"I don't have a flight in the next couple of hours. You do."

"Not tired." He stifled a yawn.

"So stubborn... I know. How about a song?"

"Try me. Whatever you do, it won't work cause I'm not tired."

Nami grinned at the challenge and hummed a little tune. Luffy blinked and he smiled and his wife mimicked his expression. It was beginning to work. 3 minutes after the little melody ended, to her surprise he was still awake. She watched him curiously as he inched closer towards her and he kissed her mouth then her forehead, lingering for a moment on each and when she opened her eyes, her smile fell for she was greeted by his sleeping face.

She did not want him to go to sleep so soon. Her throat burned and tears escaped both her eyes. Tomorrow, he'll be gone. And when he's gone, who was going to greet her in the mornings with a sweet smile and a kiss? Who was she to welcome home from work? To talk to and laugh with? Who was she to be silly with and who was going to be there to banish all her worries away with a simple embrace? Their remaining time together was not quite enough and tomorrow, he'll be gone.

Her running tears seemed to dry up when he called her name in his sleep and his hand went down the length of her arm and slipped into hers and Nami closed her fingers around it and relished the warmth.

"I'll miss you, Nami. All of you."

She brought his hand to her lips and she pressed her head against his, sniffled and closed her eyes. She could do this. Her husband married a strong woman and if the wives of policemen, firefighters and even soldiers could do it, she can too.

Nami sat up and wiped away her own tears and patted at her cheeks. She was overreacting.

She left bed and went over to his suitcase to have a look at what he packed. He said that they were going to a winter island and knowing him, he didn't think that packing to match the weather was that important. She found few socks, shorts?, and light, long sleeved shirts and a lone jacket as well as a few pairs of underwear. She smiled at his carelessness and set to work. Sifting through his closet and chose more suitable clothing adding more socks, underwear and even included vests, better pants and an extra thicker jacket and whatever she felt was necessary. Nami folded each neatly and was now at ease that he now had everything he needed.

She zipped the case up again and took a deep breath and flicked her hair behind her shoulders. She could do this. A notebook on the nightstand came into sight and after she wheeled his luggage back over to the door, locked off the light, crawled back in bed and hugged him from behind and gripped the fabric of his shirt that was above his beating heart. Feeling his hair in her face, she curled up snug next to him.

Nami wanted to remember his smell and his noisy way of sleeping and the warmth of his body against hers. Her hazel eyes hooded and she went to sleep.

She wanted to remember it all.

 

The crew was all packed and ready at the airport terminal and they watched on as Luffy and Nami bid farewell to each other; arms around each other's waists.

Zoro was getting irritated,"Oi, Luf-!"

Franky clamped his mouth shut cutting him off with his large hand with water running from his eyes. A few of the others put their fingers on their mouths glaring at the swordsman.

"Shut up, Zoro. Leave them alone. A heartless man like you will never understand their suuuper love."

Zoro pulled the guy's hand off his face,"But they're taking forever. How long has is been?"

"Only 5 minutes," Robin said smiling at the cute pair.

"Really?" Zoro was taken back. It felt like an hour. Franky was right. He would never understand. The captain took 2 weeks off from work to be with the wife before the flight and that seemed like a good ample amount of time to say a simple 'goodbye.'

Nami observed the bickering of the crew and mustered up a smile from her heart. Right now, she wished that she had the power to stop time.

"Looks like the guys are ready to go. Have a safe flight, okay? I'll see you when you get back."

Luffy's smile faltered and Nami upon noticing said, "What's that look for?"

"I want to change my mind. I don't want to go anymore. I prefer to stay with you, Nami."

She stared at him with a hopefully serious expression on her face. Deep down she wanted that too. But now she had to be strong. For him. This morning, she prayed for the strength.

"Luffy. Just moments ago, you were saying how excited you were for this mission. There's no need for a change of mind. I married the freest man in the world and I have so much respect for you." Luffy had told her that she inspired him but he was the most inspirational person she knew.

He touched her face then gathered her up close in his arms.

"I know that I've been waiting for this mission for a long time but I have come to realize that I don't want to leave your side. I want us."

Nami blinked her eyes rapidly. She promised herself that she wouldn't cry. And she planned on sticking to that promise.

"Your job's important."

"I know. I'm sorry that I have to leave you alone."

"Don't be."

"I can't love you if I'm hundreds of miles away. That's impossible. What should I do?"

Communication was going to be difficult. They were headed to a secluded place on the earth.

"I got it. I'll save all my hugs and kisses just for you, Nami. All of them."

And Nami laughed and placed her arms tight around him. She did not want to let go. God, she'll miss him too.

"I will look forward to that," she whispered then ran a hand through his hair and buried her face in his neck. She then started to release herself from him but he tightened his grip around her and she sweat-dropped.

"Luffy..."

"Three weeks. Three weeks is too much," he muttered more to himself and Nami caught the eyes of the crew and gave them an amused look. They snickered and Zoro and Sanji shook their heads with small smiles plastered on their faces. Lu-kun could be such a lovable fool.

Then they caught the look she gave them after she glanced over at Luffy and back at them. It was all in her eyes. A pleading look. And they understood and nodded firmly.

"Soon guys," she said.

"Train hard," said the swordsman.

"You don't have to tell me twice, Zoro." The marimo smirked and gathered his suitcase and the rest of his belongings and left the group to check in. Sanji had to hold him back because he was headed in the wrong direction.

She will be focusing on her training. Usopp had invented a tool she could use when she was ready that dealt with manipulating the weather and she had to work on getting better acquainted with it. By the time Luffy comes back, it would be around their one year anniversary. Another thing she was looking forward to.

"Soon," she said a bit quieter to her husband, taking his face in her hands and sent him off with a kiss.

 

Luffy sat next to the snoring swordsman all gloomy faced on the plane, clearly depressed. His fingers tapped impatiently on the armrest and he absentmindedly tasted his lips and felt himself calming down. Three weeks will come and go by fast. That's if only he and the crew did the job effectively then soon he will be back home with her.

He randomly checked his pants pants pocket hoping to find some gum or something to ease his nerves and his hands pulled out a rolled up sheet of paper. He straightened up when he recognized Nami's handwriting and his lips pulled to both corners of his face and his cheeks heated up. It read:

To my dearest husband,

Want to know a secret?

The first time we met, do you remember you smiled at me? That handsome smile of yours made me feel weird all over. And my unsteady heart prior to our meeting was acting funny. I thought that I had gone mad. When you smiled at me, she danced around my chest as if shouting,"That's him!"

When I was about to walk out on you, you held me back. Thank you for doing that because what a life I would have missed if I didn't give you a second chance. Then you seduced my heart a little more and when you asked me to marry you, she said again,"That's him."

On a whim, I decided to listen to my heart instead of the logics of my own head and after that, I couldn't stop thinking about you.

I remember hating the wait to speak with you again so imagine how happy I was when you called me for the first time that night. You called me everyday after that. Then when I overcame that initial hatred, a new one developed. I hated waiting to see you again. When I did, you held me close like you never wanted to let go. Then came another one but it was short-lived. I hated waiting to marry you, to share a life with you, to feel your very lips on mine for the first time.

I'm sorry that you married such an impatient wife. I'm working on it but what I really want to tell you is that I hate waiting. But if it's for you, I'll wait.

I love you, Luffy. I'll always love you. Don't you dare forget that.

-Your Na-chan

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

To be continued...   


	22. Chapter 22

"Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects. Always trusts. Always hopes. Always perseveres. Love never fails." - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

 

Luffy and Nami were on an outing with Usopp and Kaya, a frail girl with pail white skin. They were listening to one of Usopp's many tall tales after lunch. They had spent the morning checking out the new amusement park that was in town and they all had a blast.

It was the first time Kaya was able to meet Luffy's wife. She did happen to see her when she went to pick up Usopp from the airport a while back. She was on vacation from her medical studies and it had been arranged that she met up with him there and she remembered when she initially met Usopp's boss' wife that same day he came back from his first mission in a long time.

Kaya had arrived an hour early and when she got there, she did not realize that she came to stand right next to her, rattling a set of car keys in her fidgeting hands and she had been nibbling on her bottom lip with bottled up excitement.

The first thing Kaya noticed about the young woman was her eye catching beauty. While waiting, she had been scouted by a modeling agency but she turned them down saying that she was just there to wait on someone important.

As soon as the terminal for Usopp's group flowed with newly arrived passengers, she heard a name call out in a loud voice and the orange-haired woman crinkled her face in what looked like relief and ran into the crowd. Kaya saw Usopp's group soon after and the same lady jumped at the captain and the way Kaya saw her all bundled up in his arms, she had never seen anyone look more at home.

Usopp had spoken about how close Luffy and his wife were, and Kaya came to admire their relationship. She and Nami had only met briefly that day but she had learned just by stories alone how much of an outstanding person she was and wanted to get to know her more, as her friend.

Now she sat opposite her. Usopp was seated next to her and Nami right alongside Luffy.

Sometime during the day they had grown distant at some point which was a huge contrast to how they were when they met up at first. Only exchanging a few words every now and then and needless to say, she was worried for them. But earlier she dropped her napkin under the table and what she saw made her question everything: On the bench where they both sat, they were holding hands. And Kaya could only blush at the adorable gesture. She wanted that too.

Her fingers inched close to Usopp's lone hand but as soon as it made the slightest contact, he pulled away.

"Sorry about that, Kaya. Didn't see you there... Now, where was I?"

Kaya sulked inwardly and looked the other way.

"The giants," Nami said idly and sipped on the extra large milkshake she and Luffy shared and Kaya looked on with envy, comparing it to the two separate medium sized milkshakes that belonged to she and Usopp respectively. She wanted that too.

"Oh yeah. Thanks, Nami," he cleared his throat and deepened his voice,"I, the fearless warrior..."

Kaya stole glances at Luffy-san's wife. She was gorgeous and she liked her lush, shiny hair that flowed with each movement compared to her thin, dull white-blond locks. Nami was flamboyantly dressed and Kaya wished she had her fashion sense. She wore a flirty, white, off-the-shoulder blouse and Kaya had never showed that much skin in public. She wished she had her confidence.

She didn't realize just how long she was staring till Nami turned and made eye contact with her and Kaya's face turned scarlet and she abruptly stood up. Everyone stared at her puzzled and it had been Usopp who broke the awkward silence.

"Kaya? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Usopp... Uh- I just," she looked around trying to find an escape," Bathroom! Yeah- I have to go use the bathroom."

Nami stood up as well. "I'll come with you."

Sweat dripped down Kaya's face. "You really don't have to, Nami-san."

"I've already decided." She grabbed her bag and left her seat and made way over to her. "We'll be back soon."

i

i

Kaya hung her head feeling out of place as they walked over to the laboratory then Nami suddenly hooked arms with her. Her nervousness cooled off when Nami flashed her a grin.

"Chin up. Pretty girls should always hold their heads up high- unless you're busy admiring your shoes."

Kaya nodded and gave her a sheepish smile; very appreciative at the compliment directed her way.

"Usopp said that you're studying to be a doctor. That's really something. Said that you're doing well too. I've wanted to meet you for a long time."

Kaya's smile spread across her face and she found herself walking taller.

"I've also wanted to meet you for a while now, Nami-san. And... I'd like if we became good friends."

"Sure."

Not only was she beautiful, she was kind and Kaya saw why Luffy married her. It was surprising that he got married in the first place. The phenomena Usopp described as 'The End of the World.'

"Usopp talks about you a lot," Nami said.

"Well, Usopp-san and I grew up together and have known each other for years," said Kaya absentmindedly. He was also the reason why she became a doctor since he was one to get himself hurt and she hopes that one day she could help heal his injuries.

"You don't believe his stories, do you? He's a notorious liar."

"Of course not but," Kaya said with a huge smile looking ahead of her,"How great would it be if those stories were indeed real?" Usopp-san was a great story-teller. He would use them in the past to cheer her up during the time she was ill and shattered after losing both her parents. He was someone she held dear to her heart.

Nami studied her carefully, noticing the far away look in her eyes and the curve of her lips. A look she knew all to well for she would find herself with the same expression whenever she thought about a certain someone. She giggled and gave Kaya a playful shove.

Confused, Kaya asked,"What?"

"Oh nothing," Nami replied in a sing-song voice as they came upon the bathroom entrance.

Kaya had another question for her; she did not want to pry but it was bugging her to no end.

"Nami-san?"

"Hm?

"Is everything okay with you and Luffy? It seems like you two had a fight..."

"Luffy and I?" said Nami then she remembered,"Oh. We're fine. Just a petty fight. Nothing to worry about."

"Is that so? I'm glad."

"Yeah. It's like that all the time. A little fight every now and then. That's just what love's like really," she said while washing her hands and taking out her matte lipstick to put on a fresh new coat. "You should know, right?"

"Right." Kaya's eyes widened, "Wait, Nami-san. Usopp-san and I..."

i

i

Usopp and Luffy sat facing each other indulged in a game of tick, tack, toe on a paper napkin. They had already eaten but Luffy had ordered an extra helping of food after the girls left. Usopp on the other hand, had put his story on hold because he wanted Kaya in particular to hear the climax. He knew his stories were a little... okay, a lot exaggerated but apart from Chopper, he knew that Kaya really liked listening to them the most and he wanted to save the best part for when she returned.

After winning yet another game, Usopp was tired of convincing Luffy that it did not matter whether he chose X's/O's or vice versa, it did not grant the upper-hand and so far the scores so far have been 10 to 1. Too easy.

"You won this time Usopp but I'll definitely win next round!"

"Nah. Let's take a break," said the sharpshooter. He thought with a smug smile that sometimes it was no fun at being good at almost everything.

"Nami and Kaya sure are taking their time. Why do girls take so long in the bathroom?"

Usopp shrugged,"It's a mystery."

"Oh, a mystery. That makes sense."

"Hey Luffy."

"What?"

"About you and Nami..."

"Me and Nami?"

"Yeah. What's it like so far? Is it like you can't live without each other?"

Luffy cocked his eyebrow then held his belly and laughed.

"Can't live without each other? What's with that? We've been able to live without each other just fine way before we met... but when I think about it, it isn't that we can't live without each other; It's that we don't want to."

"I see. Must be nice," Usopp mused. The captain and the his wife were inseparable. He really liked the way Luffy put it.

"Wait- Why did ya ask me that? Are you planning on asking Kaya to marry you?" Luffy grinned feeling excited for his friend and Usopp's eyes widened like saucers.

'Shishishi' "You'll like it! Marriage life is great!"

"No, Luffy. That's not it-" But the captain was not listening.

"It'll be one of the best adventures, you will ever be on." 'Hahahaha'

"Oh really?"

"Yeah."

Then Luffy looked from left to right and motioned his hand to indicate to his long-nosed friend to come closer.

"I have a secret. It's about Nami but promise me that you won't tell anybody. She'll kill me if she finds out."

Usopp blushed and leaned in closer to hear. "A dirty secret?"

Luffy made a face. "Dirty? I guess... but you have to promise me."

Usopp gulped and nodded.

The captain snickered and cupped his hand over the marksman's ears, finding it hard to control himself.

"Okay: Girls fart." Then he leaned back and laughed by himself thinking that he had the richest joke of the century.

Usopp stared deadpanned and he face palmed. His captain was an idiot.

"That's your big secret?"

"Yeah." 'Hahahaha'

"Luffy. I was not planning on asking Kaya to marry me... I mean, we're not even dating. I was thinking about asking her to be my girlfriend."

Luffy stopped laughing and could only stare back at him with a look of disbelief.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I don't know what gave you the idea that we were together."

The waiter came by to drop off the food along with an extra helping of milkshake since he drank it all and despite being in the presence of meshi, Luffy still stared back at Usopp, silently judging him. In conclusion, he shook his head and thought that he was very stupid. He could tell that Kaya liked him- a lot. And he thought that Usopp was smarter than that.

He looked away to see the girls returning and he and Nami exchanged a knowing look.

Usopp turned around and welcomed them back. Kaya sat down and checked her phone and Usopp felt Nami and Luffy's eyes boring into his very soul.

"What?" he asked and at the same time, Nami and Luffy turned their thumbs down and silently boo'ed him. Usopp frowned and sweat-dropped. He had officially became a spectacle of the idiot couple.

Luffy dug his hand in the chips and Nami leaned over and took one for herself but neither of their eyes left the sharpshooter's. Like they have never seen someone so pathetic. And Nami thought that her husband was dense.

She leaned over to whisper in Luffy's ear and then he whispered in hers and they both snickered quietly.

"Oi..." muttered Usopp. The great Usopp was not used to being mocked.

Suddenly, Kaya's phone slammed shut and she looked up- Luffy and Nami went back to normal- Nami pretended to check her nails and Luffy... well, eating.- She smiled and turned to Usopp.

"Usopp-san- About that story..."

"Hai. Decided to save the best part. I didn't want you to miss it."

Kaya clapped her hands together, delighted. She really wanted to know how his story ended.

"Yeah, Usopp-san. Tell us how the fearless warrior battled his way out the friend-zone," Nami said with a cheshire grin. Luffy snorted and gave her a high-five.

"Good one, Nami," he said.

"Haha. Real funny guys," said Usopp. And he called these guys his friends. His good, supportive friends. They sure lived up to the name.

Kaya looked around at them. "Did I miss something?"

"It's nothing to worry about, Kaya."

"Usopp said that he has something he wants to tell you later, Kaya?" 'Shishishi'

Usopp's mouth dropped and Nami grinned mischievously. There was no backing out now. Well done, Luffy.

"You do? I wonder what it could be," Kaya said and she turned to smile at her childhood friend. Usopp laughed nervously while rubbing his neck. Red dusted his cheeks.

"Thanks for reminding me, Luffy," he said between his teeth. "Now back to the story..."

Usopp made a mental note to have his revenge on his meddling captain later. And he thought of no better way that that super hot sauce he was working on. Revenge was going to be sweet.

 

 

Nami stared at the full length mirror in the hallway, clad in a navy blue and peach floral gathered dress that swept her ankles and it showed off just enough skin at the back. She had her hair parted down the middle and her bangs were brushed away from her face, hair styled behind her ears. Quiet piano music played in the background and she adjusted her first anniversary gift on her wrist: a polished compass inspired watch.

What made it special were the carved words that can be found on the wristband that Luffy had customized: "Our love will never be lost. It will last a lifetime."

She stood close, putting in her pearl earrings then her hands slowly dropped from her ears, taking a step back to examine herself from head to toe. Her mouth was set in a line, then she looked at herself, really looked at herself, furrowed her brows and sighed.

What came soon after was a smile. A really big one. She motioned her feet one after the other and turned with the music, smile never leaving her face.

In a year's time she will be 26.

i

i

Now, ladies and gentlemen. Let me tell you about this phenomenal woman. Hardworking, wise and true to herself, true to her husband.

Every time Luffy left for overseas, she was torn apart inside but one thing for sure gave her comfort: He always came back home to her. When her time had come, she made sure that she sharpened every one of her skills, choosing to play an ultimate role in the group. They may have been doing just fine without her but Nami endeavored to play an important part in the crew, gaining everyone's approval and it had reached a point where she was irreplaceable.

She did not only grant the crew physical help but had also done so mentally. And this was reserved solely for her husband for it was this reason why she invited herself in: To be at his side.

There have been times when certain members of the crew began to question their loyalty to their captain but by all means, Nami stuck to her husband's side. Never stopped believing in him, silently demanding that he be treated with the respect he deserved and the crew would follow suit. She became their emotional support.

She saw parts of her husband that she had never seen before. The first time she witnessed his brute strength, it surprised her. How the man who loved her so gently, had the power to single-handily take down a thousand men was beyond her comprehension. Through this, she learned that he was protective of her. In the beginning, they had been people who wanted to take her away for selfish reasons, even wanted to harm her. People like Arlong and every time she thought about the news of what he had in store for her, it made her shudder.

Luffy tended to be furious and had told her to remain close to the group at all times whenever they went on missions. Although Nami understood why he would behave in such a way, it saddened her. She didn't join to be a burden. She joined to help him and it had taken a lot of coaxing to convince him. But she worked and worked and was able to prove herself in the end that she was more than capable of looking after herself. Gaining his complete trust.

Nami knew that she had a love for travelling but had only recently discovered that she also had an undying thirst for adventure. Had even taken up the hobby of drawing first-hand maps.

The world, she had said, was a mysterious place. Filled to the brim with magnificent natural wonders, many lands and peoples. But what touched her most was the world's suffering. She saw for herself the after effects of the state of people's lives after the onset of natural disasters, food shortages, corrupt governments, slavery and it didn't end there. She had seen it all. Though it sickened her, it brought out something in her. A compelling emotion and that was empathy.

She wept for the orphaned children who had lost their parents via war, sickness and even death. Wept for the unfortunate who didn't have a place to rest their heads at night, clean water to drink nor food to eat. Wept for the victims of the unfair world.

Nami did not become repulsed nor turn a blind eye. In fact she refused to turn her back on them; standing firm for what was right. Offering assistance in any way possible to offer even the smallest hope of relief. She helped the group take down the bad guys responsible; A satisfying sport.

When it came to granting verbal support, she along with her husband respectively would offer it to those in dire need and Nami learned more about how much a people-person Luffy was. Wherever he went, no matter who he talked to, he made them smile, laugh; he made them hope. Encouraging them to the best of his ability and Nami with so much built up admiration and pride fell in love all over again.

After becoming a revolutionary, her eyes were opened and she found a new purpose.

i

i

She stopped mid-turn and felt her heart leap out her chest when she heard the doorknob of the apartment turn open. He was finally here.

Luffy did not even get the chance to kick off his sandals for his wife had already thrown her arms around him but what really caught him off-guard was that smile. His eyes hooded and one of his own played on his lips.

"I'm home, Na-chan." His nose trailed down her neck and dipped into the crevice of her shoulder. She was wearing the perfume he liked best on her.

"Welcome back," she said. Then her lips found his and his eyes fluttered closed. Every contact with Nami was like a free pass to heaven.

"Did I remember to tell you that I loved you today, Luffy?"

"You did," Luffy said softly kissing her cheek. "You never stopped."

He blinked confused as his eyes swept over her, noticing her hair and outfit. "You look pretty," he said and loosened his tie and had abandoned his sandals at the shoe stand.

"Thank you." Blood rushed to her face, warming her cheeks.

"Are we going somewhere?"

"No," Nami said but told him to follow her as she grabbed his hand and quickly pulled him into the living room almost making him lose his footing.

She folded her skirt under her and sat on the carpet.

"Sit with me, Luffy."

"...On the floor?"

"Just do it."

Once settled down he asked again what this was all about and what she said next made his ears twitch and caused his eyes to ricochet around the room.

"I have a surprise for you."

"What kind of surprise?" He loved surprises.

Nami smiled, biting her lip, fighting hard not to blurt it out .

"Guess." She had said but before Luffy could put any thought into it, she took hold of his hands and placed them flat on her stomach. Her hands laid over his and she watched him waiting for a reaction. Watched him knot his brows as he glanced at her and looked back down with a concentrated stare. Felt his hands move to caress her tummy more and she waited.

It took him a good 15 seconds (she counted) before his eyes widened and whipped back to hers, mouth agape.

"Are you sure?"

Nami nodded saying,"Yes. I'm sure. I-" but was cut off when Luffy took her by the shoulders and held her close.

'Shishishishi' And Nami giggling, held his face in her hand and kissed his cheek. She was definitely sure. 100%. For the past two days, she was feeling dizzy and today after dropping off some orders at the post office, she realized that she was late. A fact that concerned her because her period had been irregular in the beginning and after she married, she focused more on her health which instantly fixed that problem. Not to mention her mood swings.

She bought a test at the nearby store and used it as soon as she got home and those two lines confirmed it all.

Luffy grew quiet and Nami retracted to look at his face and saw a lone tear cascade down then he hugged her back. She hooded her eyes and rubbed his back.

"I'm so happy," he sniffled and she heard the crack in his voice.

"You don't have to cry," she said but felt a few tears escape her eyes. Surprised that she still had some left because after finding out, she cried and cried and her face still hurt from smiling too hard.

"I can't help it," Luffy said, dabbing at his eyes and when Nami looked and saw his tear-stained face, she had never seen anything more beautiful. "I'm so relieved."

She reached up and brought his head closer, kissing both his eyes. "Thank you, Luffy." Then she made him rest on her shoulder. "Thank you for being my strength."

Luffy squeezed his eyes shut, broke down and sobbed.

i

i

The truth is that they had been trying for 3 months. Started trying after the mutual agreement that they were more than ready to become parents. The use of contraceptives seized. Even changed their diets but so much time had passed and still no baby.

Luffy had been optimistic about it and she tried to be too but honestly, it was putting a strain on their marriage.

Although they had a great relationship, there were times when they disappointed each other. He, when he put himself in harm's way and she, when she worried too much. This was one of the areas compromise came into play.

However, Nami was beside herself. Stressed, distraught and afraid. Tried to hide it thinking that Luffy may just say something along the lines of her worrying over nothing.

She prayed for a miracle; tried to be hopeful. But leaned towards the belief that she was barren. Felt like such a failure of a woman. Knew how much Luffy wanted to be a father and felt like such a failure of a wife.

Wanted to talk to someone about her inner struggles. Her mom, Nojiko or someone in the same boat as her but could not bring herself to do so because she knew well that she would be betraying her husbands trust; something that she would never dare to do. So she kept to herself, once again forgetting the most important part of a relationship. And that was communication.

Luffy noticed. Of course he did. But when he tried to low-key cheer her up, she lashed out at him, spewing harsh word and they stood stunned staring at each other and Nami saw the hurt and pity in his eyes. She felt so embarrassed, ashamed and disgusted with herself that she teared up, immediately apologized and begged for his forgiveness.

Luffy remained silent and she took a step back and turned to run to her room but Luffy grabbed her hand. She stopped with her head bowed low, warm tears dripping on her feet. He circled his arms around her and placed her back firm against his chest and Nami gradually calmed down. She had been forgiven and in that moment had realized just how much she needed him.

"Nami... I'm sorry. I know that you need your space right now but you looked so alone. I have an idea about what's bothering you and I don't want you to think that I don't care. I care because I love you. Please just talk to me. I hate to see you being so hard on yourself. You can lean on me for support and I'll help you the best way I can so please don't do this all by yourself. Don't leave me in the dark."

They sank to the floor, listening to each other's breathing and it did not take long for her to pour out her heart to him. Her worries, her insecurities. Everything. Luffy didn't offer a solution. He had none. But he was able to offer her all she needed: His ears to listen, his presence and his shoulder to cry on. He did however, offer another necessity: Encouraging words that made her question her reluctance to tell him in the first place.

"Whatever happens, Nami, you're my wife. And I refuse to give up on you. I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere. I love you too much. This whole situation never once made me love you less. Not once. If we're going to fight our way out of this, we'll have to do it together. As a team."

Nami on the other hand could not believe the words she was hearing. They were exactly what she needed him to say. Once again: How did he do that? He understood her in ways no one else could.

The last of her tears squeezed passed her cheek and her heart swelled in her chest. She did it once more: Fell in love with him all over again.

She regarded him with infatuated eyes and had a hand placed behind his neck, tracing his jaw with her thumb. Then she told him to tell her that he loved her one more time.

"I love you."

And she kissed him like there was no tomorrow. It would not surprise her if they conceived that day. That was two weeks ago.

i

i

Luffy dried his face with his sleeve and stared intrigued at his wife. They had planned a doctor's visit the following day but now there was no need for that.

"How are you feeling, Nami?"

"How I'm feeling? I'm happy, of course," she said with a smile.

"No. How are you really feeling? Are you okay? Any mystery feelings?"

Nami tilted her head and her smile widened. Nobody, on this planet can tell her that she didn't marry the sweetest man in the world. So endearing.

"I had a headache before you came home but I'm okay now. Thanks for asking."

She had to however prepare herself for the upcoming symptoms. Though it was all a beautiful experience, it will without a doubt have its ugly times. Soon her favourite place to be will be the bathroom and soon she had to say hello to sleepless nights. Nine months will go by in a jiffy and she'll have the best person in the universe to spend them with, to spend the rest of her life.

Luffy took one of her hands and held it up in front of them and interlocked their fingers and grinned at her.

"When she's ready to come out, it's gonna hurt- a lot. So all you have to do is hold my hand and squeeze it as hard as you can. You might break it but I wouldn't care cause I have two."

Nami stared amused at him; equally what he said and the fact that he had already called the gender of their child.

He held up his other hand and she put her free hand in it and squeezed as hard as she could.

"Like that?"

"Yeah. Just like that." 'Shishishishi'

Then he cradled his arms in an expert fashion.

"And when she's finally out, I'll hold her just like this and tell her every single day how much of an amazing person her mother is."

Nami blushed pleasantly at that. There was no stopping when it came to Luffy complimenting her. Everyone they meet, he's always like," This is my amazing wife." Robin had even said that he bragged about her all the time in her absence. Nothing but empowering words and there was actually a line of people who wanted to meet her. Nami had long given up on trying to get him to stop.

"You're too much, Luffy."

"You think so? How about every other day?" And she laughed.

Luffy had always spoiled her. Not with things- that was not the way to her heart- but with his attention and kisses. Kinda like how he was doing now as he planted kisses all over the perimeter of her face and she accepted them all. She was a greedy girl- a shameless fact she knew all too well.

She wondered if it was even this possible to be this happy but there were some serious matters she had to discuss with him.

"Luffy."

"Hm?"

"Raising this child is going to be challenging." It mattered not whether she got more of her genes or his or if she got an even split, she will be both, stubborn and strong-minded. Traits that both her parents shared. "Might even be harder than our marriage."

Luffy narrowed his eyes at her, disappointed that she said something like that.

"I'll have to disagree with you on that one, Na-chan."

Nami frowned," What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that being married to you was the bravest, hardest thing I've ever done but it has been the most rewarding. It won't be harder and as your husband, I'll make sure of that. I love my job."

Nami gazed intensely at him. Why he was still fully clothed up to this point was beyond her but pondering on what he said got her thinking. It was true that nothing should come between a man and his wife. Work, friends, children. Nothing.

Luffy has always made their relationship a priority. There were times when they would have little household problems around the house. Be it, a clogged drain, leaking pipe or broken furniture- and they would have to call either Usopp or Franky to help fix it. Luffy was not handy when it came to these mishaps and he made it his motive to learn. Although Nami told him that it was okay, he still went ahead and learned, saying that it would be lame if he didn't and that he also wanted to impress her. He didn't just want to show his love for her. He wanted to do so thoroughly.

She got on her knees and hugged his frame tight against hers, eyes clo sed in complete bliss. She then blindly reached for the stereo remote on the coffee table and turned up the music.

"Dance with me?" She said and Luffy stood lifting her up along with him and placed one hand on her hip and she had one on his shoulder. Their other hands stretched out in a perfect dancer's stance. Nami signed them both up for dance classes and Luffy had gotten loads better with the practice; as well as in other areas (if you know what she means).

They floated along with the music and Luffy stopped to spin her around with his hand outstretched. When she returned to him, she stole a kiss and gazed into his eyes; took his hat off and rested it atop her head and Luffy gave her a small smile.

"Lu-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you still love me when I'm fat and miserable?"

"I will and you know that. We'll be in this together so there's no need to feel miserable."

Then she stole another.

Apart from the concern of raising a child in such a twisted planet, another concern of hers was her body. She did not at no time plan on letting herself go. She liked the way she looked and will put in whatever means necessary to maintain her weight but that could not compare to being a mother to a living, breathing blessing to be shared between her and her husband. Her main concern was to bring a healthy child into the world, into her husband's arms, so to speak. She'll ensure that their child has a safe journey and a safe delivery.

"When this child-"

"Our daughter," said Luffy and Nami sweatdropped and patted his shoulder.

"Right. Our daughter. When she's born, you won't love her more than you love me, would you?

"I'll love her to pieces but there is no one I'd love more than you, Nami. I'll always love you more."

And another.

"No matter what?"

His hand slid down and supported the small of her back and he dipped her down slightly as the song came to an end. He lowered his head getting ready to steal back what was taken from him and enclosed his lips over hers and she continued the song with a sweet, low sound that came from the back of her throat that tickled his ears.

"No matter what."

End.


End file.
